Undercover
by Chenamon
Summary: After the events of the story mode campaign, DJ Octavio sends his only son to spy on the agents. Little did Jr know what would await him when he arrives in Inkopolis and upon meeting agents 3, 4, 5, Charlotte, Teuta, and Erink respectively.
1. Prologue: Mission Directive

It was nightfall in Inkopolis. Every kid, squid, jellyfish, and whatever else sea creature was fast asleep. All were resting except for one of course: DJ Octavio. He was patiently waiting for someone to arrive. A few minutes passed and someone super-jumped, landing directly in front of the snow globe. Cap'n Cuttlefish stirred, but ended up just rolling over, still fast asleep. The kid pushed his red tentacle hair out of his eyes. His skin was a pale peach and his eyes were a piercing green. He was wearing a black sleeveless wetsuit. There was a metal plate across his chest and back. His boots and gloves were also black. He was obviously an Octoling.

"It took ya long enough. What's the deal, yo?" DJ Octavio whispered, in an irritated tone. The kid rolled his eyes and replied.

"My apologies. I had to keep the Octarians in line. I'm here now, so give me my mission." DJ Octavio sighed.

"Well whatever. Here's the deal. I need you to go to Inkopolis to do some recon work." The kid looks up somewhat surprised. He pushes his "hair" out of his face again and replies.

"You want ME to go to Inkopolis? An Octarian who steps foot in there is basically fish filets! What's preventing you from going?"

"Cuttlefish set up tighter security." He points to a bell hanging above the snow globe. The kid rolls his eyes once again and sighs. "Anyways. That's why YOU will become an Inkling. Did you receive that package I sent for you?"

"Yes."

"That box contains all the stuff you'll need to pull this off. It has photos of the agents, wigs, inkling ear replicas, contacts, and Inkling eye masks. You'll need to get the rest of the Inkling getup yourself, though."

"I understand. I'll do my best, father." Octavio sighed.

"You really need to loosen up, yo." The kid remains silent and stares with a deadpan serious expression. "I put some money in your bank account, so you can stay at a motel or whatever while incognito. I'm counting in you, Octavio Jr. For real, yo. This time we Octarians will win."

The kid nods and heads to the kettle leading to Inkopolis. He transforms into an octopus and phases through the grate in the top. His mission begins.

He reaches Inkopolis and before he exits the grate he peeks out a little. The store owners had just closed up shop and were headed home now.

"Hoo! Great day for business as always, am I right?!" said Crusty Sean happily. "All my kicks were flying off the shelves!"

"Congratulating you, Crusty Sean! Jelonzo was also having the body clothes doing the flying off of the shelves!" peeped Jelonzo.

"Business was quite good on my end as well. The Luna Blaster was quite popular with the kids! Annie, how did it go for you?" Sheldon asked, adjusting his glasses.

"O-oh. It was fine, I guess... We made a lot of sales..." she replied, pushing hair out of her face.

"WE GOT TONS OF LOOT!" Moe, her little clown fish, chimed in.

"Well, I'ma get going. See y'all later." Crusty Sean said waving bye.

"I'll be seeing you on the next day! Jelonzo says goodbye to you all!" Jelonzo also waves and goes off on his way.

"We should get going too. Would you like a drive home, Annie?" Sheldon asked.

"O-oh... OK... Sure..." Annie replied shyly.

"LET'S GET GOING!" Moe chimed in.

The four store keepers were finally on their way and Octavio Jr climbed out of the grate. He looked around Inkopolis. It was quiet as no one was there and most of the lights were off as well. The Great Zapfish was coiled around the tower sleeping. He looked up at the sky and the moon glimmered through the clouds. It was the first time he had been to the surface in a long time. He sighed and turned his attention back to the stores. He walked out over to Booyah Base and began picking the lock of Ammo Knights' entrance door. He picked it successfully and made his way in.

He began checking out the weapons and seeing what suited him. He decided to take the Splash-o-Matic and the Aerospray MG. He exits the store and locks the door behind him. He then makes his way over to Cooler Heads. He does the same and tries out different headgear. He ends up taking a few different headgear and accessories. He repeats this process until he has enough clothes to last him a while. He put some of the clothes on and the disguise his dad sent him and he was ready to go.

He returns to Octo Valley.

"How do I look?" Jr asked. DJ Octavio jumped upon seeing him, but relaxed when he realized it was his son.

"You look fresh, yo." Jr doesn't reply. "You're ready to start your mission. Good luck. "

"Thank you, father." And with that he returns to Inkopolis and makes his way to a motel. He goes up to the counter.

"I'd like a room." Jr said. The motel owner looks up from his book and grins at him. He leans on the counter and replied.

"Aren't you a little young to be checking into a motel yourself?"

"Don't patronize me." Jr retorts. The owner backs off and hands him the keys. Jr paid the fee and headed to his room. It was a bit old and musty, but beggars can't be choosers. He put on his pajamas and climbed into bed. He cuddled up to his stuffed octopus. Tomorrow he'd be making his way to school and he sure wasn't excited for that. No kid in their right mind would be excited for that.


	2. Ch 1: First Day of School

Octavio Jr was up early getting ready for school. He would be going to the same school as the agents. He was feeling a bit nervous, but kept his usual mask of seriousness. He made sure his disguise was put together perfectly and finally made his way to the train. The ride was short and he would just have to walk a piece to the school. He could feel the anxiety lingering in his gut. All kinds of Inklings were already hanging out at the school grounds. He took a deep breath and walked into the midst of students.

Elsewhere, at Inkopolis Plaza, there was a huge hubbub at Booyah Base. There were inklings yelling and complaining about the stores being closed and they were wondering why. The shopkeepers were out back and all discussing what to do.

"I don't know how we could have possibly lost so much merchandise! I remember locking up last night too!" Sheldon cried.

"Me too… How could this happen…?" Annie whimpered.

"Jelonzo made sure the body clothes were in the security!" Jelonzo added.

"I know I locked up for sure, yo. Either way, we've gotta get these squiddos to chill out. Anyone up for it?" Crusty Sean asked. Annie looked down nervously. Sheldon was cleaning his glasses. Jelonzo waved his tentacle.

"Jelonzo will do the taming of the squid children!" he peeped happily.

"Alright, man. Just be careful." Crusty Sean said, patting the jellyfish on the back. Jelonzo headed out in front and all the Inklings were still making a ruckus.

"Excuse me, squid children! Jelonzo is needing your attention!" he called. They all settled down and listened. "Jelonzo and the other keepers of stores have been experiencing a robbery. Merchandise is missing as of the now. We hope you are understanding and that you will be waiting for stores reopening later today!" The squid kids all settled down upon hearing this, murmuring amongst themselves. Eventually the crowd dispersed and the store owners came out front to meet Jelonzo.

"You the man, Jelonzo! I knew you had it in you!" Crusty Sean exclaimed. Jelonzo blushed bashfully.

"It was not being a problem, Crusty Sean. Time to be getting back to the working now?" Jelonzo asked.

"Right. Let's try to make do with what we have right now." They all headed into their stores and began work.

From the crowd, the three agents were making their way to school. One was a girl whose tentacle hair and eyes were pink and her skin was dark brown. Her uniform was tidy and put on properly to fit the dress code. The other Inkling girl, who was running and jumping around excitedly, had yellow tentacles and eyes. Her skin was a slightly lighter brown than the pink Inkling. Her uniform coat was tied around her waist and the dress shirt's sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. Her tie was also really slack. She was definitely defying dress code, but didn't seem to care. Lastly there was an Inkling boy with orange tentacles and peach skin. His coat and dress shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His dress shirt was also not tucked in. His tie was slack and he wasn't even wearing the proper footwear; he was wearing wooden sandals. He had zero regards for the dress code, but he was also having a good time like the yellow haired one.

"You two are gonna get sent to the office when we're in class, you know..." the pink girl said.

"Dress code is so not fresh, Charlotte! And who cares! We get sent down just like any other day, eh Erink?" the yellow one said while still dancing wildly.

"Heck yeah, Teuta! If we're gonna wear uniform, we may as well do it in style!" he chimed in, also dancing wildly with Teuta. They arrived at the school and Octavio Jr was wandering aimlessly through the halls. He looks down at the photos of the agents. He was really at loss for where to go, so he stood in a corner out of the way. Charlotte notices him standing alone.

"Hey, looks like we have a new student. We should go over and talk to him." she said.

"I dunno. The kid looks pretty shady..." Erink said while narrowing his eyes. Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous. Let's go." She begins walking over to Jr and the two follow. Jr sees that he's being approached so he puts the photos away. It was the agents. He tensed up a little. Erink noticed that and was getting a tad suspicious.

"Hi, are you new here?" Charlotte asked. Jr nodded. "I'm Charlotte. And this is my sister Teuta-"

"Hiya new kid!" Teuta interrupted.

"And this is our close friend, Erink." Erink did the 'sup nod." What's your name?"

"Oct- um. Inktavio Jr." Jr replied. Erink was suspicious of how he corrected himself. Charlotte was suspicious too, but ignored it for the most part.

"Inktavio sounds foreign." Erink commented.

"I recently moved here from Calamari County." Jr replied.

"Who are you staying with?" he probed further. Teuta nudged him.

"I should be staying with my father, but he's working abroad right now. I'm staying at a motel right now until he and the moving trucks arrive" Erink nods slowly and Teuta rolls her eyes at his probing.

"Anyway, it's getting near class time. Are you registered, Inktavio?" Charlotte asked. He shook his head. Teuta grabbed his arm and began dragging him to the main office.

"You've gotta register dude! Or else you're coming here for nothing. You'll stick with us and we'll show you the ropes of school living, OK?" He nods. They get to the office and he gets registered. Once that was done, they made their way to class. Their schedules were the same and the four of them would be sharing the same classes.

First class was history. Jr was quite knowledgeable about the subject of Octarians and their machinery, as well as the Great Turf War. Students were wowed as well as the teacher. Erink narrowed his eyes. Charlotte was also a tad suspicious, but more intrigued.

"Not only is he suspicious, but a show-off too..." he grumbled under his breath, crossing his arms.

"Erink and Teuta!" the teacher called. The two jumped. "You two are out of uniform. Again. To the office." The two sigh and comply without argument. After history, they had a bit of a break. Charlotte and Jr headed outside. Teuta and Erink were there waiting.

"Did you two even go to the office?" Charlotte asked sternly. The two just laughed and she shook her head. "You two need to stop mucking around all the time." Once they finally calmed down, Erink continued his probing.

"What made you and your dad decide to move to Inkopolis?" Erin asked.

"My father had a job opportunity here and he wanted me to be closer to where he worked." Jr replied.

"Where does he work?" Erink he continued. Teuta nudged him.

"Knock it off, dude! Inktavio, don't worry about him. We're glad to have you here! Let's go play now." Teuta said tugging on her sister's arm. The four go off and play. They were throwing a ball back and forth and chatting some more.

"So, what do you guys usually do in Inkopolis for fun?" Jr asked.

"Oh the usual: turf wars, splat zones, and hanging out at Booyah Base." Teuta replied. "Do they have that kinda stuff in Calamari?"

"No... I've never participated in any of those things. We don't have those things in Oc-Calamari. I don't even know what those are." he replied. Erink gasped loudly and held his chest as if Jr committed the worst crime.

"N-no turf wars?" Erink asked. Jr shook his head. "No splat zones or Booyah base?!" He shakes his head once again. "Tell me you at least have Splatfests over there."

"What's a Splatfest?"

"I... I need to sit down..." Erink slumped against a tree and slid down onto his bum. His friends stared at him. Once he calmed down, he jumped onto his feet. "We need to educate you on being the funnest and freshest squid around! Like us!" He put his arms around Jr and the twins.

"On the weekend of course. We might get homework during the week." Charlotte pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course." Teuta said. The bell rang. Teuta and Erink groaned. The four of them headed to their next class. It was the class every kid or squid hated: math.

Charlotte didn't mind math and was quite good at it. Teuta was bad at math and was barely focusing and doodling in her notebook. Erink was also disinterested in math and was watching Teuta doodle. Jr was watching and taking notes like a studious young "squid". The rest of the day blew by fast because it was just lunch, art class, recess, and Squinglish class.

The four of them went on the train together and talked about all the stuff they do at Inkopolis. Jr took notes so he could remember for later. They waved by to Jr as he got off his stop and he made his way back to the motel. As soon as he got in, he locked the door behind him and began removing the disguise. He tossed the wig and glasses onto the bed and went to take the contacts out. He took this time to himself to eat, relax, and do his first-day-of-school homework. After he finished all that, he picked up his walkie-talkie.

"Hello?"

"Jr? That you?" DJ Octavio asked.

"Yes, father."

"How was the first day of being an Inkling? Were they ink thirsty savages?"

"Surprisingly, no... They seemed quite tame to what we've dealt with."

"And the agents? You find them?"

"Yes, father. Not only that, I've become acquainted with them. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"You the man, son! Keep gettin' info on these guys. Peace out."

"Bye, father." He hangs up. He was already in pyjamas, so he flopped into bed and cuddled with his plush octopus. The mission was going according to plan.


	3. Ch 2: Hitting the Town

A few weeks had passed. Octavio Jr had gotten pretty close to the three agents. Teuta wasn't suspicious of his true identity at all. Erink had eased up on the probing, but was still a bit wary. Charlotte was definitely suspicious of something, but didn't act upon her suspicions. The four of them were heading home after school, when Teuta gets an idea.

"Let's go to Booyah Base. We can go shopping and do some turf wars and rank battles." she said excitedly.

"Oh, that sounds like a cool idea! Come on, let's go!" Erink exclaimed.

"We have homework, though..." Charlotte noted. The two shrugged.

"We can do it over the weekend. Come on!" Teuta said, while tugging on her sister's arm. Charlotte sighed and they ended up going. There were a lot of kids hanging out today, most of which were still in their uniforms. First they checked out the stores. The agents bought stuff and Jr just watched. They headed to the Inkopolis Tower.

"Are you guys gonna join?" Teuta asked. Charlotte and Erink shook their heads. She turned to Jr.

"I'm not sure how the rules work, so I'll just be watching." Jr said. Teuta nodded and made her way to the playing field. The three watched as she began covering the ground with her ink.

"What's the objective of this?" Jr asked.

"To cover more turf than the other team. Teuta's really good at turf wars." Charlotte replied. They continued watching until the match was over. Jr was also taking notes on what Charlotte told him. He also took notes on the weapons he saw. Teuta went a few rounds before she was tuckered out.

"I'm gonna do some Splat zones now." Charlotte said.

"Alright, good luck!" Teuta said patting her sister on the back. They now watched as Charlotte kicked butt at this mode.

"What's the objective of this mode?" Jr asked.

"There are usually one or two areas a team needs to cover. When the area is covered by a team's ink a timer starts counting down. Once it reaches zero, a team wins. But, if the opposing team takes control while your team was in control, you get time penalties. It can get pretty crazy, but Charlotte's super good." Erink explained. They continued watching in silence, except for the occasional cheers by Teuta and Erink.

Eventually they were too pooped to do more matches, so they began heading home. While heading home, Charlotte got a text from Agent 1. It read:

"Cap'n Cuttlefish needs to see you ASAP. I'm not sure what it's about, but you should probably check it out." Charlotte tapped Teuta and Erink's shoulders. They stared and she motioned to the grate to Octo Valley. They nod and Charlotte taps Jr's shoulder. He turns his attention to her.

"We need to go somewhere. Wanna come along?" Charlotte asked. Teuta and Erink headed through the grate. Jr couldn't disguise his Octopus form, so he shook his head.

"Well OK then. See you later." Charlotte heads off and he sighs, relieved.

'That could've blown my cover... Thanks cod it didn't.' He begins heading home.

They made their way to Octo Valley and Cap'n Cuttlefish was there as usual.

"Ah! You kiddos are finally here! I've got news on the Octarian threat!" Cap'n Cuttlefish said.

"What is it?" Charlotte asked.

"I have a feeling DJ Octavio here has been planning things behind me back. He may or may not have a spy lurking around Inkopolis! He hasn't said anything yet, but I know it's so! I can feel it in me cuttles! Be careful, OK? And catch the fiend!"

"Got it, Cap'n. We won't let you down." Charlotte said. The three of them left, and then headed home. While going home Charlotte was thinking.

'I wonder if Inktavio knows something about this. He is pretty new and all... I can't just make snap judgements, though. I'll keep my eyes peeled.'

Tonight was the night Octavio Jr was doing the usual calling his dad. He picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Hello?" he said.

"Jr, time's startin' to run out, yo. We need to work faster. Do you have their trust?" DJ Octavio asked.

"Yes, father. They all trust me for the most part."

"Good, good. Soon the plan will have to go into action so keep sending in info. Got any deets today?"

"Apparently they partake in these games called turf wars and splat zones. Both are four on four matches focused on cover as much ground with your team's ink. One's a bit more complex so I'll send in info later. I've also learned that Inklings are obsessed with something called freshness. It has something to do with levels and clothes. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I'm guess it has to do with their ranking system. I also got some info on the weapons they use, so I'll be sending the notes I took to base."

"Awesome. Thanks for the info kid. I've gotta keep a low profile, so you'll be on your own for a bit. Be safe, yo."

"Bye father." He hangs up. He eventually headed to bed, with both his mission and his friends in mind. He was beginning to get mixed feelings now.


	4. Ch 3: Definitely Not a Crush

A month or so had passed and Octavio Jr had assimilated well amongst the Inklings. He had grown close to Charlotte, Teuta, and Erink. They were all heading home from school and Charlotte was thinking. She leaned over to Teuta.

"Inktavio's been home alone for a long while. I'm gonna invite him over for dinner." she whispered. Teuta nodded. Charlotte tapped Jr's shoulder and he turned his attention to her.

"I want you to come over to our house for dinner and stuff." she said.

"No thank you. I'd rather go home." Jr replied.

"I insist."

"I politely decline. I really need to be getting home."

"To what?" The two were staring each other down. Erink and Teuta were intently watching. Eventually Jr gave in. He averted eye contact.

"Fine." Teuta and Erink cheered. The four began making their way to Charlotte and Teuta's house. As they went Jr thought to himself.

'What's wrong with me? How can I give into her? This is obviously some kind of trap, so I better keep my guard up.' They finally got to their house and a toddler came to greet them.

"Hi Cephine!" Teuta exclaimed, picking her up. "This is our baby sister, Cephine. Isn't she cute?" He nods slowly. Teuta put her back down and she toddled to the couch. Charlotte turned to Jr.

"Our mom should be home in an hour or so. We can do homework or chill 'til she arrives." she said. He nods. Charlotte and Jr were doing homework, while Teuta and Erink were playing video games. Cephine was staring at Jr extremely seriously. Jr was getting a tad uneasy by this.

"Does she usually stare at people like that?" he asked Charlotte. She shook her head.

"She usually just stares at Octarians in the video games like that. Not sure why she's staring at you like that. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Right..." He's sweating a little and tries to keep his cool. 'I can't have some infant blow my cover. Gotta keep cool.' He relaxes and continues doing the homework. By then, their mother finally gets home.

"Hi, squiddos! Are you doing OK?" she asked. They all nod. "Oh, you must be their friend, Inktavio! It's nice to finally get to meet you!" She shook his hand vigorously; he could tell she was happy to see him. "I'll go prep dinner and it should be done in a few." Their mom and Charlotte head to the kitchen. It was just Jr, Erink, Teuta, and Cephine in the living room. Erink would break the ice.

"So, how do you like Inkopolis so far?" he asked.

"It's nice, I guess. Everyone's really friendly." Jr replied. For once he didn't feel threatened and actually comfortable. 'My dad can't possibly be wrong about these guys, could he…? No. I gotta keep my guard up.'

"Squids! Dinner time!" the twin's mom called.

"Great! I'm starving!" Erink exclaimed, running into the dining room. They all took their seats and started eating, except for Jr. He was staring at his plate with a somewhat green tint to his face.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" the mom asked.

"Is... Is this octopus?" Jr asked, keeping his composure, but internally screaming his head off.

"Yes, dear. Why?"

"I'm... Uh... Allergic to octopus."

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry, dear! We have some left over tuna casserole in the fridge. Would that be alright?" she asked, taking the plate from in front of him. He nods.

"I've never heard of an octopus allergy." Erink commented while shoving a fork full of octopus in his mouth.

"Dude, shut up! People can be allergic to anything." Teuta retorted. Their mom returns and gives him the tuna casserole and he eats that. They generally have a chill night, and eventually it's time for Jr to head home.

"I should really be heading home now..." Jr said, slowly heading to the door.

"I'll walk you home. It's not safe to be out at night on your own." Charlotte said, following him.

"It's fine. I'd prefer to go alone."

"I really insist." She stared him down once again and he finally gives in.

"Fine..." he sighed. The two of them head off. Teuta and Erink watched as they left. The walk was generally silent. Charlotte broke the ice.

"Don't you get a little lonely in that motel?" He shrugged.

"Not really... I'm kinda used to it."

"Your dad doesn't come home to hang out with you often?"

"No. He's very busy..."

"That sounds really awful. I can't imagine being without my mom, my sisters, or even Erink... You've got us to count on, OK?" He was a bit surprised to hear this and he blushed slightly. He averts eye contact and replies.

"Uh... OK..." She giggles. As they continued walking they noticed something flying in the sky. Charlotte squints to look at it and Jr was hoping she wouldn't notice.

"Isn't that a UFO?" she asked. She began running after it. It unfortunately got away. She goes back to for Jr, but he was gone. She assumes he went home, so she went home herself.

He lets out an exasperated sigh and flops onto his bed face first as soon as he arrives home. He groans loudly and then rolls onto his back.

'What is wrong with me? Why am I letting some Inkling girl walk all over me? I wouldn't give into her wishes if it weren't for those piercing pink eyes... Those piercing pink eyes...' He lay there and thought about Charlotte for a bit. He could feel his face getting warm from blushing. It hit him. "Carp..." He slowly sat up and looked over at his walkie-talkie. Its light was blinking red feverishly. He missed his dad's calls. He picked it up to call him.

"Hello?" he said, bracing for the worst.

"OH! Now you pick up? Where were you? Who do you think you are, leavin' me in the dark like that?" DJ Octavio basically yelled through the transceiver. Before he could go on, Jr cut him off.

"I was having dinner at my friends' house."

"Havin' dinner with friends? Dude, you're on a mission? You can be havin' dinner parties all willy-nilly."

"Gaining trust takes time. And I couldn't say no."

"Why?"

"Charlotte is very persistent. She has very piercing, pink eyes..." There's a silence and it hits DJ Octavio.

"WAIT. HOLD UP. You can't ACTUALLY be falling for this Inkling chick?!"

"Wh-what?! No, of course not."

"Come on, man. It won't work. It could mess up the mission. You dig?"

"I understand."

"Don't get too attached, got it."

"Yes, father..." There's another silence, and Jr remembers the UFO. "Hey, what's with the UFO flying around?"

"I got tired of waitin', so I left. Time's runnin' out kid, the plan's gonna have to fly sooner or later. Understand?"

"Yes, father." They hang up. He pulls off the wig and the mask. He takes out the contacts and changes into pyjamas. He climbs into bed and can't help but thinking about her. 'Maybe there's another way...' He sighs, hugs his stuffed octopus tightly, and just goes to sleep. The plan may need to be reworked.


	5. Ch 4: Sleepover

Over a month had passed and the three agents were planning something. While at lunch they went to Jr.

"Hey Inktavio, we're having a sleepover tonight." Teuta started.

"That's nice." he said.

"And you're invited!" Erink added.

"And we'd really like you to come." Charlotte chimed in.

"I really can't stay the night..." Jr said.

"Well, why not?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm really not comfortable sleeping around others..."

"OH come on! It's not like we're gonna prank you or anything! Right, Erink?" Teuta said, nudging Erink, who was giggling at the thought of pranks. He snaps out of it and nods in agreement. Charlotte was staring at him.

"Come on please, it'll be fun." She was staring him down, but it was more of a gentle plead than a glare. He melted at her expression, at least on the inside.

"Well, OK... Do I need to do anything in particular at this sleepover?" he asked. Charlotte shook her head.

"Just bring pyjamas and whatever else you use to sleep and you'll be fine." she said. The school day went about normally and the four went their separate ways home. Jr was in his room doing research on sleepovers and stuff. Since his dad was keeping a low profile, it was up to him to figure this out.

"So you go over to houses and just relax there and then sleep. I don't understand the point of this. Maybe an ambush? Do they know my true identity? That blasted Cuttlefish probably told them something. I just gotta keep my cool and keep my guard up when I'm there." he thought aloud. He'd being going over in a few hours, so he just relaxed.

Hours passed and he made his way to Charlotte and Teuta's house. He knocks on the door. Teuta opened the door.

"Hey, you actually made it! Awesome! Come on in, dude." Teuta exclaimed happily. Jr enters and Erink and Charlotte were there chilling in the couch. They waved to him and he waved back.

"Hey, Inktavio. I'm glad you came." Charlotte said. He simply nodded.

"So... now what?" Erink asked.

"Let's play video games!" Teuta exclaimed loudly. She turned on their Squii U and they began playing some games. Cephine was there, staring at him and the Octarians in the game seriously as usual. Charlotte's suspicions were finally set. After playing video games they just ate dinner. Teuta was loudly telling her turf war stories and the rest were listening. Erink probably laughed the most at them, while Charlotte would just smile every once in a while. Jr wore his usual serious expression through most of it, even though he was intrigued.

After dinner, they watched a movie. The theme of the movie was humans. It was supposed to be a scary movie. Erink was freaked out, so he screamed a lot and was peeking through his fingers through most of it. Teuta was laughing through most of it and cracking jokes. Charlotte was quietly watching it, and constantly telling Erink and Teuta to shush. Jr was unfazed and watched it quietly.

It was getting near bed time, so Charlotte showed Jr where he would be sleeping.

"This is where you'll be sleeping." she said, motioning to his bed.

"You'll be bunking with me! We can have a little man-to-man time! It'll be fun!" Erink added.

"Man-to-man time?" Jr asked with a confused expression. Charlotte giggled and he blushed slightly. Erink tugged on his arm and pulled him into the room.

"Night you two." she said, waving and heading to her own room.

"Night, Charlotte!" Erink called.

"Good night, Charlotte." Jr said. Erink shut the lights off and hopped into his bed. He was facing Jr and Jr was anticipating Erink's probing. Erink opened his mouth and began.

"I see you're always blushing when you're around and talking with Charlotte. You got a crush on her, huh?"

"Wh-what? No- I mean..." Jr stammered. He regained his composure." I guess I do like her. Like-like her. She seems really nice and cool..." His face was warm and his cheeks glowed purple on his pale skin. Erink nodded.

"Charlotte and Teuta are VERY important to me. They're basically like sisters to me. When you came along I felt threatened and like you were gonna steal 'em from me. I was jealous about how close you and Charlotte were getting..." he paused thoughtfully. Jr was a bit surprised to hear this. "But, I now feel like I can trust you. Dude-to-dude trust. I know now that you two are super compatible. You should totally ask her out. She thinks you're real fresh, you know?"

Jr was a bit at a loss for words. He finally replied.

"Thank you, Erink. I'll try to do that soon." Erink grinned widely and nodded.

"Anyways, man talk now..." Erink continued. They talked for an hour or so, until Erink basically tuckered himself out. A few minutes after Jr fell asleep, Erink did too.

The following morning, Jr woke up early and left. He left a note thanking for having them over. He made his way back to the motel.


	6. Ch 5: The Big Reveal

Charlotte woke up early that morning as well and went to check on the boys. She gently opened the door and Erink was there snoring away. She looked at Jr's bed and he wasn't there.

'He left so early...' she thought. She turned to leave. She got dressed and grabbed her Aerospray RG. She was going to find out what was up with 'Inktavio'. She made her way to the motel. His door was unlocked, so she carefully entered. Her Aerospray was in her hands already. She looked around the room. The bathroom door was closed so she assumed he was in there. She spotted the wig he usually wore and began reaching for it. She was about to grab it, but Jr came out the bathroom. Their eyes met and they were both frozen in place.

He didn't have the black mask around his eyes, but two separate purple rings around each eye. His eyes weren't orange, they were large and green. He had red tentacle hair on his head that hung above his shoulders instead of an Inkling ponytail. His hair had pale yellow suction cups going down each tentacle. His arm had a bandage wrapped around it, but a faint green glowing scar could be seen. He was indeed an Octoling. He spoke first.

"Wh-what are you doing here, Charlotte?"

"I came to check on you, since you left early! And I didn't wanna believe it, but... you're an Octoling! First you stuttered when saying your own name; If Inktavio's even your real name. Then you wouldn't participate in turf wars, which very weird for an Inkling. Then Cephine stared at you strangely followed by your refusal to eat octopus. The amount of Wasabi you've consumed over the course of the past few weeks is baffling. No normal kid would even use the amount you have. And lastly all the notes you've been taking throughout your whole time being here!"

He's silent.

"You're coming with me." Charlotte commanded.

"Or else what?" he snapped.

"I'll shoot." she said point her gun at him.

"You wouldn't dare." A spurt of ink flies right by his ear.

"I won't miss next time. Put on your disguise and let's go." They have their usual stare down. She was glaring at him and he was glaring at her. He was captivated by her pink eyes again, and finally complied. He got ready and they headed to Octo Valley. Charlotte texted Teuta and Erink to come to the valley.

An hour or so passed and all four of them were at Octo Valley. Cap'n Cuttlefish was there waiting. They were all staring and Jr. Charlotte pointed the gun at him.

"Take it off." she commanded. He pulls off the wig and the mask. They all gasped, except for Charlotte.

"I KNEW IT! From the start I knew something was off about him!" Erink exclaimed.

"I did not expect this..." Teuta said, with her hand cupped over her mouth.

"You did it, buckos! You found the spy! We could use this to our advantage!" Cap'n Cuttlefish cheered.

"How so?" Teuta asked.

"He could give us Intel on Octarian activity, agent 4! He has no other choice, but to tell us. You're out numbered, kiddo!" Cuttlefish chuckled. Jr sighed. So the four kids leave and return to Charlotte and Teuta's house.

When they arrive, the questioning begins. Erink starts.

"So what's your REAL name, 'Inktavio Jr'?" Erink leaned in real close squinting at him. Jr reeled back a little and replied.

"My real name is Octavio Jr."

"No wonder that name sounded familiar!" Erink commented.

"Which means DJ Octavio is your dad, huh?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes, he's my father..."

"Which also makes you prince?" Teuta added. He nodded. They all stared thoughtfully at the prince.

"Did you have any ongoing plans?" Charlotte asked. He nods slowly. "Call them off."

"What, I can't just-" She stares him down while pointing her Aerospray at him. He sighs. He pulls out his walkie-talkie. "Could I at least have some privacy?"

Charlotte motions for them to leave the room. Teuta and Erink leave. She turns to Jr before he leaves.

"You better not try anything funny, got it?"

"I understand." She leaves. He picks up the transceiver and speaks. "Hello?"

"Ah, Jr it's nice to hear from you again. Things goin' according to plan?" DJ Octavio asked. Jr sighed.

"Not exactly..."

"I don't like the sound of that. What happened?"

"I... I got found out... They know I'm an Octoling." There was a short silence.

"What?! DUDE! Come on, how did you manage that?" DJ Octavio exclaimed.

"I don't know! I guess I didn't lock the motel door behind me..."

"Ugh, Jr... Where are you right now?"

"I'm at Charlotte and Teuta's house."

"The agents house, Jr? Seriously, man?"

"I didn't have any other choice, dad. I'm outnumbered and they had me at gun point..." There's another pause. "We need to rework the plan. Cancel whatever we have going right now. I'll discuss it with you later. Bye."

"The clock's ticking, son. Bye." He hangs up. Jr sighs deeply. He didn't know what to do. On one hand he could bail and go through with his Octarian plans, but on the other hand he could try and see if they could fix the problems with the help of the Inklings. Charlotte and the others returned. He looks up.

"The current plans have been called off. I'll do my best to keep you updated with plans." Jr said. Charlotte nodded approvingly.

"Well there's not much we can do now but wait. You'll still need to wear you disguise when we go out and about. We don't know how other Inklings would react to you." Charlotte explained.

"I understand."

They generally went about their day normally after this. Jr was sleeping over at their place for the night. Hours passed and it was bed time. Erink was lying on his bed, holding in a question. He finally spoke.

"Inkta-... Octavio... Did our friendship mean anything to you?" Jr was staring at the ceiling, but turned to face Erink upon hearing this. He was caught by surprise.

"What do you mean?" Jr asked.

"Like, did you even see us as friends? Were you using us to just get info, and then throw us away like nothing?" Erink face was solemn and Jr thought quietly for a bit.

"Initially, I was just on a mission to get info on you guys and then I'd give you in..." He paused. Charlotte and Teuta were hiding by the door, listening in. "But I eventually got pretty attached to you guys. I consider you guys my friends... And even though I'm supposed to be opposed to Inklings, I... don't feel that way. My friendship for you guys is sincere. My feelings for Charlotte are true." Charlotte blushed upon hearing that. Teuta cupped her mouth to conceal her laughter. The two girls tiptoed back to their room. Erink smiled.

"So you do care... I'm glad. It's nice having a dude friend. I've never really had one..." Erink said, somewhat sheepishly.

"Why is that?" Jr asked.

"Well, I got picked on a lot by other boys 'cause I cried a ton and I was super wimpy. Charlotte and Teuta were the only two who defended me and befriended me. That's why I'm so loyal to them and care about them so much." Erink's quiet for a bit. Jr sighs.

"This is all so tough." Jr said.

"I know."

"All my life, I was told Inklings were evil, heartless, and terrible creatures. I believed that for so long... And these past few weeks have been an eye opener. We're so different, yet so alike... I... I don't want to keep fighting against you guys... But as the prince... UGH." He covers his face. "I don't know what to do..."

"Hey, dude. Don't worry too much about it. This can't all be figured out overnight. We can try to figure stuff out tomorrow and however much longer it takes." Jr stares and Erink grins at him. "Well, night Octavio."

"Good night, Erink." Erink fell asleep first and Jr just lay awake, thinking. It was a tough situation he was in. For his species or for his friends? He really would have to think on it.


	7. Ch 6: Reunited

It was early in the morning and DJ Octavio was awake, preparing his next plans. He was silently working at his desk when the phone rang.

"Who could possibly be calling this early in the morning?" he asked while picking up the transceiver. "Yo."

"Octavio?" said the voice. It was a gentle and silky voice. It sent a chill down DJ Octavio and he stammered to answer. He was in disbelief, but finally spat it out.

"B-Blanca? That really you?"

"Yes, it's me."

"Where've you been? You OK?" He was about to throw some more questions at her, but she cut him off.

"I need to meet with you as soon as possible. We need to catch up and discuss things. Is that possible for you?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course... I'll head over today. Where you at?" he asked back.

"I'm in Calamari County. Please come soon. I'll speak with you there. Bye, Octavio."

"Later, Blanca." They hang up. He had to sit there and collect himself before he could head out. Once he did, he went off to a UFO. An Octarian runs after him.

"Sir! Sir! Wait!" he called.

"What is it, Octobob?" DJ Octavio replied.

"Where are you going?"

"Calamari County."

"What about the mission?"

"It'll have to be delayed a little. I ain't going to Calamari for no vacation, you know. It's important."

"And your son? What about him?" DJ Octavio almost forgot about him.

'I'm going to have to tell him his mom's alive, yo... This is gonna be tough.' he thought to himself. "Uh, just tell him I'm away on business or whatever. Here." He throws the walkie-talkie to Octobob.

"Sir, are you sure it'll be fine just leaving like this?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine. Quit worrying, yo. I'll be gone a few days, a week at most. Do your best and continue with the building process. Got it?"

"Yes sir..." And with that DJ Octavio takes off on the UFO and begins making his way to Calamari.  
-

It was later in the morning and the crew was up watching cartoons while eating breakfast. Charlotte was eating waffles and drinking chocolate milk. Teuta was eating eggs and bacon. Erink was eating waffles and drinking orange juice. Octavio Jr was eating bacon and waffles. They were mostly just eating, but, Teuta and Erink would start up a conversation once in a while. After breakfast they headed off to turf wars. Jr just watched while the rest of them headed into battle. He would take that time to call his dad.

"Hello?"

"Um... Hi, Prince Octavio."

"Octobob? Why do you have my dad's walkie-talkie? Where is he?" Jr asked.

"He's, um, heading to Calamari County, your highness."

"For what?"

"Um, he didn't exactly tell me... He did say it was important though!"

"And the plans?"

"D-delayed, your highness..."

"Very well. Send me to blueprints of whatever you guys are working on over there. Also send me the next steps towards the plot. Understand?"

"Y-yes. Of course, Prince Octavio, sir... "

"Alright. Good bye, Octobob."

"Bye, your highness." He hangs up. The group approaches.

"That's enough turf wars for now. Let's go buy stuff at Booyah Base." Teuta said. They browsed the stores and picked up a few things before finally heading home. The rain was rolling in, so it was a good thing they got home in time.

DJ Octavio's UFO was hovering over Calamari. He looked down and spotted a woman standing on the beach. He landed on the beach near her and exited the ship. They stared at each other for a few seconds before running into each other's arms. They hugged a while before speaking.

"I've missed you so much... Were you here all this time? What happened back then?" DJ Octavio asked, while still holding her face. She was averting eye contact by looking down. She's silent before speaking up.

"I've been gone so long..." she started. "I have so much to tell you."

"Well, I'm here now and I'm ready to listen." He pushed her chin up so she could look at him. She smiled.

"Well... Alright... Let's just discuss things inside." she said while leading him to her palace. Once they were all settled in, she began her story.

"I'm sure you remember that day where I disappeared, correct?" she asked.

"Oh, of course. It was the worst day of my life, yo. Well one of the worst."

"Well I should note, I still can't quite remember what happened on that day. I'm assuming that I hit my head hard..." she tried to remember, but could not.

"Stalactites and panels came crashing down on you. We all assumed you had been crushed or your body fell deeper into the valley…" DJ Octavio said, while averting eye contact. She blinked and stared at him, surprised. She really couldn't remember much of what happened that day. To hear that's what they thought become of her was saddening. She felt bad that she couldn't have come back and that she caused all of them so much pain.

"I don't remember how I survived or what happened, but I can tell you what happen after I woke up…" she continued. He listened intently. "I couldn't remember who I was or where I came from, so I began heading the opposite direction of the Valley. I walked for days it seemed, until I met up with the light at the end of a tunnel. When I reached the end of the tunnel I was far away and outside of the valley. I eventually passed out from exhaustion. When I awoke I was in a bed. Apparently a couple found me passed out in front of the cave and took me in. They told me I was in Calamari County when I asked. They helped me regain my strength and in return I helped them with their town. I had basically started over and I was trying to regain my memories."

"So, you had, like, amnesia, huh?" DJ Octavio asked, surprised.

"Indeed. It was only recently when I regained my memories of you, our son, and Octo Valley." She paused for a bit. "While living there those fourteen years, I also learned that both our races can peacefully work hand in hand with each other. We don't need to keep fighting this war, Octavio." He looks down and she was staring him down. "This brings us to my next point. Are you still invested in taking over Inkopolis and our son? How is he doing?" DJ Octavio begins sweating nervously.

"About that..." he started. She groans and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Octavio, I love you, but this needs to stop. Firstly our son. Where is he?"

"He's, well... in Inkopolis."

"Doing what?"

"Some undercover work... Well it used to be undercover... "

"What does that mean?" DJ Octavio rubs the back of his head.

"After I got beat in my latest attempt to take over Inkopolis, I sent Jr to do some spying on the agents who beat me. He got found out by them and I assume they're holding him hostage for info or something." He winced for her reaction.

"Octavio! How can you be so irresponsible?! And why didn't you attempt to go incognito?"

"I was stuck in a snow globe..." She groaned once again. "I know, I know. It's totally lame. He's kinda in a tight spot right now, so the plans are on hold right now."

"Are you still going to go through with them? How do you know they'll be successful?"

"I don't know. I just sorta hope they do most of the time." She frowns and crosses her arms.

"I really wish you'd stop this, but I'm not going to force you to do anything. Just try to think about your son and our people, OK?" She holds his tentacles and looks into his eyes.

"I'll... I'll think about it..." He averts eye contact. "Are you coming back to Octo Valley?" She shakes her head.

"I think I'll stay here. They need me here. If something happens, you and all the Octarians in the valley are welcome here. OK?"

"OK."

"Let's just use this time now to catch up. I want to hear all about our son." She grins and he can't help but grinning back. He begins telling her about the past few years with Octavio Jr while she's been gone. He would be staying with her for a few days so Jr and he would not be in contact for a while.


	8. Ch 7: Date Gone Wrong

DJ Octavio had returned to Octo Valley after spending a few days catching up with his wife. He was thinking about what she had told him as he walked through the door of his base.

'Could it really be time to give up these plans of taking over Inkopolis? Is all my father's hard work really gonna be all for nothing?' he silently thinks to himself. 'No. We've come so far. The goal is right at our tentacle tips. This time it will be ours.' He presses a button and pages Octobob.

"Octobob?"

"OH! Your majesty, you're back already?" Octobob asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen. I want the plans going into action this Friday, got it. The invasion starts this Friday. Inform the troops. Got it?" DJ Octavio commands.

"This Friday? O-oh OK, sir. I'll tell everyone else. And, um, do you want the walkie-talkie back? I'm sure your son would like to report stuff to you. "

"Yeah, sure. Bring it here. Bye for now."

"Bye, sir..." Octobob begins heading to the control room to announce the plans going into action. Inkopolis would belong to the Octarians very soon.

On Octavio Jr's end, things were going swimmingly. He was really starting to reconsider the Octarian plans he was supposed to carry out. He preferred to hang out with his friends at Booyah Base, watch them do turf wars and rank battles, and was even starting to enjoy their music too. His friends were glad he was having a change of heart and we're hoping for the best.

Today was the day he was going to ask Charlotte out. They were going to hang out at Arowana Mall today, so it was the perfect spot to ask. Erink was aware of this and would help the young Octoling out by distracting Teuta.

When they arrived at the mall Erink tugged on Teuta's arm.

"Hey, let's go check out the video games. I hear they have a new asquiibo coming out today." he said.

"OH, heck yeah! Let's go!" she said, while breaking into a sprint. Erink nodded at Jr and followed Teuta.

"We'll catch you two later. Meet up by the doughnut shop, OK?"

"Alright. See you two." Charlotte said. Erink ran off and Charlotte turned her attention to Octavio Jr. "Let's go wander." He nodded and they headed off. While walking his heart began to race. He was so nervous about asking since he had never done something like this before. They window shopped for a bit. Charlotte went in and tried on some clothes. Eventually they got bored of walking around, so they sat on the rim of a fountain. They were sitting silently until he worked up the courage to speak up.

"Um... Charlotte? Can I ask you something?" he started.

"Shoot." she replied. He takes a deep breath.

"Would you... Would you..." His face was starting to blush purple. She looked in his direction.

"Would I what?" Her pink eyes pierced through him. He gulped, finally mustered up the courage, and spat it out.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?" Her eyebrows rose in surprise and she was silent. He expected rejection and remained silent, anticipating her reply. She smiled gently.

"Sure." she replied. He lets out a sigh of relief. "What day and time? And where?" He tenses up again.

"Oh my cod. I didn't even think that far ahead." She simply giggled and patted his back.

"Don't sweat it. There's a carnival in town this month. We can meet there. I'll send you the directions. How's Friday at 5pm for you?" she asked.

"It's good."

"Great. I'm looking forward to meeting you there." She smiles at him and he somewhat smiles back. "Anyways. We should go meet up with Teuta and Erink."

"Right. Let's go." They head to the food court where Teuta and Erink were waiting. Right by the doughnut shop like Erink said. They l waved to each other.

"Let's go get some doughnuts!" Teuta exclaimed. They all simply laughed and went to get their doughnuts. It was basically a chill day of just hanging out at the mall.  
-

Days passed and it was finally Friday. Those days went on about normally; the usual school, turf wars, and ranked battles. Jr received no updates on any plans, so he went about his day normally. DJ Octavio's plans were ready to go into action and they started that evening. Jr made his way to the carnival where Charlotte was already waiting. He waved to her shyly and she waved back. Before they started their date, Charlotte asked him something.

"Are you sure there are no plans going on today?" He nods and replied.

"I'm sure of it. Nothing should be happening for a few more days." She nods and then the two started off their date just by playing some carnival games.

Elsewhere, Octarians were starting to invade Inkopolis. They captured Cap'n Cuttlefish first. The Squid Sisters were just chilling during their down time, when suddenly Octarians burst through the doors. They gasped.

"An invasion!" Callie exclaimed. An Octoling had her at gun point.

"Come nice and easy, and old Cuttlefish won't be hurt." the Octoling said, smugly.

"You wouldn't." Marie said.

"I can and I will." The two didn't want to risk their grandfather's safety, so they complied.

"OK... Just please don't hurt him, OK?" Callie sighed sadly.

"Of course." the Octoling smirked, placing handcuffs on the two cousins. "Take them back to the base." An Octobomber escorted them out and to a UFO. The Octoling followed.

Meanwhile, Teuta and Erink were at home playing video games when a bunch of Octarians ambushed them. While trying to fight them off by hand, the house was thrown into disarray. The couch got knocked over, cords from the game system got tangled, and when the two agents did get their weapons, ink was spread everywhere. They were severely outnumbered and were swiftly captured. Cephine went and hid under their mom's bed when the commotion began. She was left at home all alone.

Back at the carnival, things were going well. Charlotte and Jr were on the Ferris wheel.

"I've really enjoyed this day so far." Charlotte sighed happily.

"Me too. It's the most fun I've had in a long while." Jr added. They were sitting very close to each other.

"Octavio... Do you really want to go through with your original plans? Isn't there anything that can be done to help the Octarians?"

"Electricity is scarce down there... And the place is really falling apart... Our next thing would be to resurface, but where would we go?" he frowns. He looks down at his fingers that he's twiddling. She pats his shoulder. He looks up at her.

"I'm sure we can figure something out. Things are a lot different now." She smiles at him and he smiles back. They were really close now. They were moving closer and were about to kiss, until they heard a scream. They stopped and stared. Octarians were there messing everything up; they were knocking over stalls firing. Jr's heart skipped a beat. Charlotte's heart dropped. She whipped around angrily to face him.

"You said no plans were going into action today! You lied?!" she snapped.

"Charlotte, no- I didn't-" he stammered before she smacked him across the cheek. She stood up on the seat and began making her way down the ride. "Charlotte, wait!" He called following her down.

"I don't ever want to see or speak to you again. You Octarians can't be trusted!" She called angrily. Those words hurt and he stopped in his tracks. She stormed through the chaos and eventually he lost track of her. Anger and sadness swirled around inside of him. He sighed and rubbed his cheek.

'My dad obviously has something to do with this.' he thought, pulling out his walkie-talkie. He calls his dad.

"Dad, you there?" he asked.

"'Sup Jr?"

"I thought the plans were delayed! What's the big idea?!"

"Whoa, whoa. Watch the 'tude, mister. You took too long and we got all the info we need. We nabbed a bunch of Zapfish, Cuttlefish, and most of the agents. Return to base now. Well, later Jr."

"Dad, wait." DJ Octavio already hung up. Jr sighed. He felt frustrated, hurt, and just all around upset. 'I guess my dad was right… Octarians and Inklings just aren't meant to be...' He begins making his to Octo Valley. It was time to put aside his feelings for the Inklings, and fulfill the Octarian dream.


	9. Ch 8: True Intentions

Octavio Jr made his way to the base. The Octarians stood clear out of his way as he walked down the halls. He headed to his dad's room to speak with him.

"Dad, can I speak with you?" Jr asked.

"Sorry, Jr. I really gotta go deal with something. You're in charge while I'm gone. Later." DJ Octavio was hurrying out of the room.

"But dad-" DJ Octavio left already. Jr sighed, irritated at his dad's 'amazing' listening skills. He went to his room and began changing. He put on a black, sleeveless wetsuit that had a deep red stripe running down both sides. The metal plate he put on his chest was different from the standard plate, in the sense that it had the logo on his dad's Octoweapon engraved on the left side. He slipped on his black boots and gloves; the gloves having a red band around the end closest to his elbow. Finally he put on his helmet, which was modelled similarly to that of his father's, only that it was less intricately designed. He was ready to take down Inkopolis.

Charlotte, despite all the chaos, managed to reach her home. Upon seeing it, she knew it wasn't a good sign. The door was broken down and she ran inside. It was a mess. Furniture knocked over, dark purple alongside yellow and orange ink splattered everywhere; it was just a mess.

"Teuta! Erink! Are you there?!" she yelled. There was no reply. She searched around the whole house and they were nowhere to be found. She slowly and sadly began walking through the halls, he until she heard a soft whimpering coming from their mom's bedroom. She followed the sound and knelt down to look under her mother's bed. Cephine was there, softly crying.

"Cephine, come here." Charlotte said, gently. Cephine reluctantly crawled out from under the bed and into Charlotte's arms. Charlotte hugged her tightly and rocked her to calm her down. Once she calmed down, she asked, "Cephine. Do you know where Teuta and Erink went?" Cephine whimpered and pointed. Charlotte looked in the direction the toddler was pointing in. She walked over and saw that Cephine was pointing at a poster of Octarians from the games Teuta played. Her heart dropped.

'I need to save them.' she thought. She prepared Cephine for bed, and once she was all tucked in, she began preparing. She put in her agent gear and grabbed her Aerospray RG. Once she was all set and ready she made her way out. She headed to the Inkopolis Plaza where it was swamped with Octarians. They raided the stores, where hanging out all about, and were also keeping watch for any rogue Inklings. Instead of the usual music playing around the Plaza, it was music similar to that of DJ Octavio's. She groaned. She finally came out of the shadows and began splatting as much Octarians as she could. Unfortunately, there were far too many and they overpowered her. She got captured and was being taken to the base.

Jr was brooding while waiting for something to happen. An Octocopter came to report to him.

"Um, your highness sir?" he asked meekly.

"What?" Jr replied somewhat harshly.

"Um, we have Cap'n Cuttlefish, agents 1, 2, 4, and 5 all accounted for. What would you like to be done to them?"

"I don't know... Hang them over one of the ink pits. We can use it as bait for agent 3, if she shows up soon." Jr suggests. He was completely disinterested in the evil plans and just said that to be left alone.

"Uh, yes sir." the Octocopter said, while quickly leaving the room. They got that all set up and continued prepping the Octoweapons. They had more than enough Zapfish to power them. Eventually an hour or so passed and an Octoball rolled into his room to report something.

"Um... sir?" she asked.

"What is it?" Jr asked back.

"We've got agent 3. Should we bring her in?" Jr hesitated to answer. He was heartbroken and still had feelings for Charlotte. He wanted to at least try talking to her and if that failed, he would continue with the Octarian plans.

"Yeah, bring her in. Is the bait set?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. I'll go inform the others." She rolled out the room and to the area where Charlotte was being held. They brought her into the room. She squirmed out of their grasp and they were about to grab her again, but Jr waved his hand as to say leave her. They backed off and waited outside the room. She was glaring him down.

"Octavio..." she growled.

"Charlotte... I need to-" He took a few steps towards her.

"I don't wanna hear anything you have to say!" she snapped. He reeled back. "Where are all my friends and my sister? Did you do anything to them?" She stomped up to the desk. His face darkened.

"They're not hurt. At least not yet." he said, while pressing a button on his desk. A TV turned on revealing her friends and sister in a cage hanging above Octarian ink. She gasped softly, but kept her moxie.

"You better not hurt them, or else I'll-"

"You'll what? I wouldn't be making threats, Charlotte, since their lives are in my hands right now. You wouldn't want something to happen, would you?"

"You wouldn't." He immediately presses a button which lowered the cage closer to the ink. They all screamed. "No! Stop!" she pleaded. He takes his finger off the button. They cage stops and was hanging only a few feet above the deadly ink.

"Just go quietly and they won't be harmed. You know what will happen if you don't." She bit her lip and was holding back tears.

"Ok... I'll go quietly... Just don't hurt them..." she murmured.

"Good." He pulled out his walkie-talkie to page some Octarians. "Take the Inklings to the dungeon. Make sure they're unharmed." He motions for the Octarians to come take her. She begins quietly heading towards the door with them, but before she goes she looks back.

"I really thought you were different Octavio... I really thought you had a change of heart and that things could work out. I was wrong..." She turns to leave. He wanted to say something, but no words formed. She finally left with them and Jr let out an exasperated sigh. He slumped onto the floor and buried his face in his knees. He sniffed and wiped away some tears, but they just kept coming.

"I made a mistake..." he softly sobbed. He stayed curled up and continued crying.


	10. Ch 9: True Feelings

Charlotte finally reached the cells and all her loved ones were waiting in there. They let her into the one with Teuta and Erink and she ran to go hug her sister. She hugged Erink after.

"Guys, are you OK?" Charlotte asked, while checking their bodies for scratches and stuff.

"We're fine, Charlotte." Teuta laughed. She stopped laughing to focus on her sister. "Charlotte...? Are you OK? I mean are you and Octavio...?" She stopped upon seeing the same expression on her sister's face. "It's OK. Never mind. All that matters is that we're OK." She hugged her sister again.

"What's gonna happen to us now?" Erink asked. They stopped hugging. Charlotte shrugged.

"I don't know. They have tons of Zapfish, and probably have the Great Zapfish by now. We can't do much right now..." Charlotte said, grimly.

"We aren't gonna give up... are we?" Teuta asked. Charlotte shrugged and just sat down. She pulled her knees into her chest.

"The best we can do now is wait and think of a plan." They nodded and sat with Charlotte and began devising a plan.

Jr was pacing in his room. 'Is this what success feels like?' He thought. It left a bitter taste in his mouth. His heart felt heavy. He didn't want to be this way. Are Octarians always meant to be this way? Taking and trying to survive. Would things ever be different? Can Octarians and Inklings be friends? Lovers? These were the kind of thoughts rattling in his head. He turned on a screen to see what Charlotte and the others were doing. They were discussing a plan to escape and save Inkopolis. He wanted to help, but after what he did, how could they forgive him.

He thought about all the good times he had with them. Even though he didn't quite understand freshness, turf wars, ranked battles, their music, or hanging out at the Plaza, he still enjoyed every second of it. He liked being around others his age and just being a kid. He liked learning about their culture. He liked the sunlight and seeing the stars at night. What did he give it all up for? Why did he give it all up?

"I need to fix this..." he said. He turned on the intercom and spoke. "Charlotte. I need to speak with you."

She stared at the speaker in disbelief. "You expect me to talk to you after what you did? I refuse to talk to you." She turns her back to the speaker. Erink and Teuta exchanged looks of worry. Jr sighs.

"I can understand why you're mad at me. You're completely justified and I deserve it... If you're not willing to speak to me, please just listen." She remains silent, but he continues. "While we were at the carnival and the Octarian plan went into action, I didn't know about it. My dad was away for the week and I was under the impression that he would tell me when it was going into action when he got back. He didn't, and I'm sorry you and your friends had to go through that. If I had known I would've told you, but I didn't. My dad has also left again, which leaves me in charge again..."

She was indeed listening. "You sound sincere... But that doesn't excuse what you did after. You turned against us! You broke our trust! My trust!" He remained silent. "I want you to be honest... Tell me your true feelings. Tell us- tell me if we meant anything to you."

"In... In front of everyone?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes. In front of everyone." He remained silent. He sighed.

"Charlotte... I... Everyone... I'm... I'm sorry... I let my anger get the best of me and I shouldn't have. I almost hurt the people are care about the most. Erink you were probably the first guy friend I've ever had. I'm glad I got to share that 'man-to-man' time with you." Erink melted at that. He was so happy. "Teuta. I've always enjoyed your upbeat attitude. You made me feel welcome, even though I was totally out of place in Inkopolis." Teuta grinned widely at that.

"And Charlotte... What I felt for you... I can't really describe it... But, I want you to know that my feelings for you were true. Sincere. I can understand if you don't reciprocate my feelings after all this..." She's silent but she took the words to heart. "I'm sorry I broke your trust and I'm sorry I broke your heart. If it means anything to you, I'll let you go. The Zapfish are on the third floor in room 305. Bye, everyone. Bye Charlotte." He opens the cell doors and unlocks the Zapfish room. He cuts off communication with them and takes off his helmet. Charlotte managed to smile. They all exited the cells and met up with the Cap'n and the Squid Sisters.

"We'll take the Cap'n back to base. Can you three handle the Zapfish?" Callie asked.

"Can do!" Teuta said. They nod at them.

"Good luck." Marie said. And the with that, the two of them headed out of it their grandfather. Charlotte turns her attention to Erink and Teuta.

"Let's go get our Zapfish back." she said.

"What about Octavio?" Erink asked.

"He's not our focus right now. I'm sure he'll have to deal with heat with his dad when he returns. Let's just save the Zapfish." Charlotte responded. The three of them headed to the room where their fish were being held. Their weapons were also stored in the room alongside Octoling weapons, so they took them and began bursting the light bulbs and nabbing Zapfish. Once they collected all of them, they began making their way out. Jr watched as they left the building and Charlotte looked back when she was leaving. She stood there a few seconds before leaving. Now it was to await his dad's arrival.


	11. Ch 10: I Have no Son

DJ Octavio was with Blanca once again in Calamari. They were standing there in silence. DJ Octavio was averting eye contact, while she was glaring him down. She finally spoke up.

"Really, Octavio? Really? You didn't speak with him at all when you got back? Not even word?" she asked. He rubbed the back of his head. "Octavio?"

"No, I didn't. Only 'cause I couldn't..." he murmured.

"Why's that?" she asked, tapping her foot.

"The kid's real serious, yo. It's, like, totes unnerving..."

"He's your son. Our son! He's gone his whole life believing his real mother had died! Do you want him to keep believing that?"

"No! Of course not... I just... I dunno... I have a hard time talking to him about serious junk... I dunno how he'll react... He's grown up in a tough place, you know... He's hardened and I did nothing to help with that..." he sighed deeply. She patted one of his tentacles.

"I know it's not easy...but it has to be done... Just don't push it aside for too long, OK?" she smiled gently at him. He smiled back.

"Gotcha. I have to head back now. Next time, I wanna bring you to meet him, OK?"

"Of course. Goodbye for now, Octavio."

"Later, Blanca." He heads to his UFO and it takes off.

Jr was pacing once again for the day. He didn't know how his dad would react and was stressing out about it. Octobob came to check on him and he knew what the pacing meant.

"Um, your highness?" he asked meekly.

"What is it, Octobob?"

"Is something... wrong?"

"No. Everything's fine." Jr quickly responded. Octobob counted down from three mentally, as he knew what was coming. "I did something seriously bad... Or was it good? I just don't know anymore!" Jr slumped into his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. Octobob couldn't help but smile because it reminded him of Blanca.

"What is it that you did, Prince Octavio?"

"I... I let the prisoners go and let them take the Zapfish..." Jr murmured.

"P-prince?!" Octobob exclaimed.

"I know, I know! It's bad... But what I did to Agent 3- Charlotte, I mean... Well it was awful. And I really like-liked her... I still do! UGH! This is all so complicated..." Jr slouched and put his face in his hands. Octobob didn't know what to say, so he just went to Jr's side and patted his back. Jr relaxed a little and sat up to look at Octobob. "You better go, Octobob. I don't want you to get any heat because of what I did. Thank you for listening to me." Octobob got a tad teary-eyed, but quickly wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Good luck your highness." He bowed and scurried out the room. Now it was to await the king's arrival.

An hour or so had passed and DJ Octavio had finally arrived at the base.

"Hey, has Jr arrived?" he asked a random Octarian.

"Uh, yeah, sir. I saw him in the control room last." she replied.

"Uh, OK. Thanks." he said, beginning to head to that room. Jr was there waiting, sitting in the chair with his feet swinging. DJ Octavio opened the door and Jr looked up. "Uh, hey Jr..."

"Hey, dad..."

"So, um... How was being in charge...?" DJ Octavio asked, sheepishly.

"Um... OK, I suppose..." Jr said, twiddling his thumbs. "Actually, dad... I need to be straight with you." DJ Octavio listened intently. "I... I released the prisoners and let them take their Zapfish back."

"YOU WHAT?!" he yelled. Jr winced, but continued.

"I only did it 'cause... Because it was wrong to kidnap them and take their stuff! Dad, I'm tired of living underground, I'm tired of stealing, and I'm tired of just surviving! Why can't we just try talking to the Inklings?"

"It won't work, Jr!" DJ Octavio yelled.

"How do you know that? Did you ever try?!" Jr yelled back. DJ Octavio was silent. "Can't we at least try? We'll never know if we don't..." His dad is still silent. Jr stared pleadingly and waited a response. His dad sighs.

"We can try your way. Don't come crying to me if it doesn't work, got it?" Jr was a bit surprised to hear this.

"I understand." They make their way to DJ Octavio's Octoweapon and head to Inkopolis. While flying in the ship, it was dead silent. DJ Octavio remembered Blanca and tried to break the silence.

"Uh, Jr?" he asked.

"Yeah?" Jr asked back.

"Well, your mother... She's..."

"She's?" DJ Octavio was internally panicking.

"She was a wonderful woman, alright." he saved himself.

"I know, dad. You always say that." Jr replied. DJ Octavio sighed.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid! I just can't tell him!' he internally beat himself up. 'I will tell him... Eventually...' Finally they arrived at Inkopolis. The Plaza was occupied by Octarians, but there were Inklings here and there. DJ Octavio turned on the mic and began speaking.

"Inklings of Inkopolis, I've come to apologize..." he began. Jr was pleasantly surprised to hear this. "Apologize for NOT FULLY TAKING OVER INKOPOLIS. GYA HA HA HA HA!" He pulled a switch on his turntable which sucked the Great Zapfish into his weapon. Jr was shocked and went up to his dad and tugged on one of his tentacles.

"Dad, what are you doing?!" he asked angrily.

"I'm sorry, son, but we're too close to give up these plans. I knew this was all too much to handle for you, so I've been plotting behind your back. It's time for you to return to base under tight supervision." DJ Octavio motioned for some Octarians to come get him and they began nearing Jr. Jr let go of his dad's tentacle and took a few steps back.

"No..." he murmured. He broke into a sprint and super-jumped out of the ship and from building to building until he was completely out of viewing range. DJ Octavio huffed angrily and turned his attention away from his escapee son.

"Whatever. He'll be back... Keep an eye out and if you see him, bring him back." The Octarians nod and head off. DJ Octavio leaves Inkopolis for now to return to base.

Amongst the few Inklings in the Plaza, Charlotte, Teuta, and Erink were there. They just got back from Octo Valley and saw all that transpired there. They all exchanged looks as they all witnessed what happened.

"That's was Jr, wasn't it?" Teuta said.

"Looks like his dad turned on him." Erink added.

"Should we go look for him?" Teuta asked. The two were looking at Charlotte.

"I'll go find him. You two get home for now... I'll be fine alone." Charlotte said. The two exchanged looks and nodded at Charlotte.

"Good luck, sis." Teuta grinned.

"Later, Charlotte." Erink said. Charlotte nodded and the two of them left. Charlotte then headed off to find the escapee prince.


	12. Ch 11: Rebuilding Bonds

Jr reached Bluefin Depot from all that super-jumping he did. He reached the edge of one side of the depot and sat down, with his feet hanging off the edge. He felt so angry, so stupid for actually believing his dad. Tears rolled down his cheek as he angrily wiped them away. He had nobody to go to now. He betrayed his kingdom. He betrayed his friends. He betrayed the girl he loved. He didn't know what to do. He sat there, angrily brooding, letting the tears roll down his cheek.

Charlotte had checked every secluded place she could think of and she finally reached Bluefin. She looked around a bit to see if anyone was there and she finally noticed Octavio Jr. She had her Aerospray in her hands and slowly approached. Once she was within hearing range, she spoke.

"Octavio?" she said. He whipped around.

"Charlotte?" he said, surprised. He saw the Aerospray and stood up. "Wh-what are you doing here?" She noticed his face was purple, most likely from crying. He was backing up, but had nowhere to go, and almost fell into the water. She reacted quickly, dropped her gun and grabbed his arm. She pulled him back up and he collapsed onto his knees. She stood there silently. He mumbled something.

"What?" she asked. He looked up at her and replied.

"Why did you bother saving me?" She stared at him worried. "I betrayed you and your friends. I betrayed my race." his voice cracked. "I don't have anywhere to go... I don't have a purpose anymore... You should've let me fall..." He was choking up and he finally broke and started crying again. She knelt beside him and rubbed his back in an attempt to console him. Eventually she pulled him into a hug, while still rubbing his back. He softly sobbed in her arms.

After a while, he finally calmed down. They were both sitting on the edge of the Depot with their feet swinging.

"So you really have nowhere to go?" she asked.

"No... I can't go back to Octo Valley with the current state it's in. Not under my dad's rule and not under the deteriorating conditions..." They were both looking off into the distance. "Charlotte, I'm honestly so... scared..." She turns to look at him.

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know what'll gonna happen to me. I don't know what's going to happen to my dad and the Octarians. Octo Valley's reaching its breaking point and I don't want any more lives to be lost, Charlotte. It's my responsibility to keep my people safe. Even if my dad won't." They're both quiet for a bit. Charlotte gets an idea.

"Octavio, you can stay at our place, since you don't have anywhere else to go." she suggested.

"After what I did? I couldn't."

"Friends have to stick together." She put her hand on his and he turned to look at her. "And you look like you're in need of some friends desperately." She smiled at him and he blushed slightly. She stood up and motioned for him to follow. He didn't bother arguing and followed her. The two made their way back to Charlotte's house.

They finally reach the house and before they enter he grabs her wrist. She looks back at him.

"Charlotte, I don't know about this. Even though I'm forever in debt to you for doing this for me, I don't think it's a sound idea. What about Teuta and Erink? Your mother? What if Octarians come back and-" She puts her finger on his lips, shushing him.

"It'll be fine. I'm sure of it. Come on." She opens the door. Teuta and Erink come immediately upon hearing the door open.

"You brought him here? Why?" Teuta asked loudly.

"What if Octarians come and trash the place again?" Erink added.

"They won't. And he's got nowhere to go. We don't ditch friends, do we?" Charlotte asked. They're silent because she's right.

"I guess it would be unfresh to leave a kid out on the streets... Just don't get fresh with my sister, got it?" Teuta said. Charlotte blushed slightly.

"Teuta. Knock it off." She just laughs at her sister's reaction. "We should probably head to bed, since miraculously we still have school tomorrow." Charlotte said. The others groaned at the thought of school. They all prepared to head to bed. Jr and Erink were sharing a room again. Erink was staring at Jr and he was staring back.

"You know all that stuff you said to us back at Octo Valley?" Erink started.

"What about it?" Jr asked.

"Did you really mean it? Or was it all for show?"

"I meant every word. I'm sorry I hurt you guys. I hope you can forgive me for my poor behaviour." Jr said. Erink grinned widely.

"Hehe! Of course, man! It's nice to have you back again." Erink rolls onto his back and looks up at the ceiling. "Yeah... I hope everything can all work out..."

"Me too..." Eventually the four of them fall asleep. Hopefully the next day would go better.


	13. Ch 12: School

The following day, the crew was up early preparing for school. Charlotte was preparing breakfast. Erink and Teuta made sure snacks and all the school supplies were accounted for. Jr really didn't need to do much since he didn't know their schedule yet, so he just prepared himself and got dressed in the uniform. He didn't need to wear a disguise anymore since Octarians invaded Inkopolis. Everyone knew what they looked like by now. Charlotte and Teuta's mom was a bit startled to find out Jr was an Octoling, but still treated him kindly as she did before.

Once everything was all set, they ate breakfast headed out the door. First they dropped Cephine off at daycare and then made their way to school. They chatted just how things used to be before all the commotion. The main difference was the fact that there were Octarians everywhere. The Octarians knew not to mess with Jr, so they just minded their own business. After they reached their stop, they made their way towards the school grounds. Something was up.

They entered the school and everything was in disarray. The halls were a mess. Purple ink was spread from the floor to the lockers to the ceiling. Octolings and various other Octarians were running around in the halls and chasing Inkling students down. The teachers couldn't teach and we're mostly cowering in fear because of the Octarians terrorizing them. Jr was not having it. He tapped Charlotte's shoulder.

"You guys have a PA system, correct?" he asked.

"Of course. It's in the office. Why?" she asked back.

"Octarians won't listen to Inkling voices of authority. They'll listen to me." She nodded and the four of them headed go the main office. The secretaries were nowhere to be found, so they headed right to the principal's office. Upon seeing Jr he jumped.

"A-another one? Please don't hurt me!" he whimpered.

"Don't worry, sir. He's on our side!" Erink said happily. "Do your thing, Octavio!" Jr went up to the PA system. Once he figured it out he began speaking.

"Fellow Octarians." he began. The school fell silent because all the Octarians froze. "This is a school. It's for learning, not seahorsing about. Start acting like civilized cephalopods and head to class. Prince Octavio, out." He clicked the PA off. He turned back to his friends who were staring at him. They turned to look outside of the office window and all the Octarians were indeed heading to class. The principal sighed, relieved. Teuta patted Jr on the back and Erink noogied him.

"Great job, Prince boy!" Teuta exclaimed happily.

"Yeah! Who knew being royalty had its perks!" Erink added. Jr smiled and shrugged.

"It has its perks, sometimes." he declared, somewhat proudly. Charlotte headed towards the door.

"We should be heading to class too." she said. They all nodded in agreement and headed to their class. Class went about pretty normally and the Octarians were behaving now. Eventually first recess came and everything went wild again. The Octolings were wrestling, jumping around, and just generally being aggressive and wild amongst themselves. The Inklings were on the other side of the yard, quietly and in a somewhat scared manner watching the Octolings. Charlotte, Teuta, Erink, and Jr were amongst these kids.

"Why are they fighting and all that junk?" Teuta asked.

"It's basically all they know. Octolings are trained to be ruthless fighters from childhood. We're not trained in much out of that, I suppose." Jr replied.

"Should we just leave them? I mean, they're kinda messing up the yard…" Erink asked. Jr shrugged.

"I'd leave them be. Better they tucker themselves out. You can go over to them if you want, though." Jr goes off and Charlotte follows. Teuta stares at Erink.

"So, you gonna try or?" she asked.

"I'll try. If they kill me, please beat Super Squid Jump for me, OK?" Erink replied.

"Gotcha." She watched as he approached the Octolings. Charlotte and Jr were just hanging out while devising a plan to take out his dad. He remembered the younger Octarians.

"Charlotte, where do young Inklings go to school?" he asked, with a tint of urgency in his tone.

"Squiddy Elementary school. Why?"

"There's most likely Octarians there. I'd like to check on them to make sure they aren't making trouble." She nods and leads the way. It wasn't too far off from their school. Upon looking into the yard, he lets out a sigh of relief.

The Octarian kids were playing and getting along find with the Inkling kids. Some Octarians ran up to the fence to greet Jr and he crouched to greet them. Charlotte couldn't help but smile at him petting and saying hello to all the kids. She tapped his shoulder and he turned to look at her.

"We should get back. Recess is ending soon." she said.

"Oh, OK then." He stands up.

"Aw, you gotta go now?" an Octoball kid asked. Jr nodded.

"Even princes have school. Bye kids. Behave yourselves." Jr said while beginning to walk with Charlotte.

"Bye, Prince Octavio!" the Octoball called.

"See ya, Prince Octavio!" an Octocopter kid peeped. He just waved as more kids were screaming goodbye to him. Charlotte couldn't help but laugh a little. Jr blushed slightly.

"What's so funny?" he asked her, still flustered.

"It's nothing." she said through laughter. He rolled his eyes. They continue their way to the school.

Erink approached the hoard or Octolings and cleared his throat. He began speaking.

"Um, excuse me, Octolings!" he called. They all stopped what they were doing abruptly and whipped to look at him. He began to sweat nervously, but continued. "You know you lovely ladies don't need to be fighting like that."

"What are ya sayin'?" one of the Octolings asked.

"Well, in Inkopolis, the only fighting that really takes place is in turf wars and ranked battles. And even then it's not very physical. You can totally chill out, maybe look at the sky. I mean, when's the last time you really got to relax and take it all in?" He winced expecting a negative reaction, but was met with silence. When he opened his eyes, the Octolings were all staring up into the sky. They were so focused on rough housing, that they forgot this wasn't underground anymore.

"You're right, squid boy... It's nice..." the Octoling from earlier said. "What else kinda nice stuff do ya guys have?"

"And what do you Inklings do when there's no school?" another Octoling asked.

"And where do you get all your fresh clothes?" a third Octoling asked. Erink laughed.

"Ladies, ladies. There are enough Inklings around to ask questions too. Give it a try." he suggested. They took his suggestion and soon enough, Inklings and Octolings were starting to talk and become friends. They were talking and teaching each other about their different cultures. One Octoling in particular hung around Erink.

"Um, excuse me." she said shyly. "I heard your little speech there, and it was really eye opening... My name's Ophelia." She bowed politely.

"I'm glad you liked my little spiel. There's more where that came from." he grinned. She giggled. "My name's Erink. Nice to meetcha Ophelia." The two began talking.

Eventually, Jr and Charlotte reached the school grounds and it was usually quiet. They looked and Erink was there talking to an Octoling. Jr was impressed that he got them to chill out and that the two races were hanging out with each other. He tapped Erink on the shoulder.

"I'm impressed that you calmed the troops down, Erink." Jr commented.

"Heh, it was nothing. These girls are real neat. They're just like Inklings, so I don't see why we shouldn't be nice to them." Erink replied. "Right, Ophelia?" She smiles and nods.

"Prince Octavio? I hope we don't have to go back underground. I really like it up at the surface." she said, hopefully.

"I hope so too, Ophelia. I'm sure we'll find a way." he replied. He goes back with Charlotte. "Let's continue devising a plan." She nods and they continue. The school day goes about normally and with a lot less chaos. With the kid Octarians behaving, it took some Octarians out of being a hindrance to the plans.

When they reached home after school, Jr and Charlotte had their whole plan thought out. The four of them held a meeting in the living room.

"The two of us finally finished up our plan to take down DJ Octavio and save the Zapfish and Inkopolis." Charlotte began. "First part of the plan: recruits. That starts tomorrow."

"Who are we gonna recruit?" Teuta asked.

"I'm sure Octarians will be willing to participate. The desire to stay up in the surface will surely make them comply." Jr answered.

"And I'm sure Inklings would be willing to help in order to get our city back." Charlotte added.

"What's next after recruits?" Teuta asked.

"We take back our city. So all the Octarians occupying Inkopolis we'll take out." Charlotte answered.

"And then the last phase of the plan will be taking down my dad." Jr added.

"Sounds like a plan to me! Go team saving-the-city!" Erink cheered. The plan would go into action tomorrow, so they awaited the next day. Hopefully they would get as many allies as possible.


	14. Ch 13: Allies

The following day, recruiting began. When they went to school, Charlotte, Teuta, and Erink asked the Inklings around to help with stopping DJ Octavio's reign. Jr asked the Octarians. A lot of people agreed to help, while others were sort of afraid of coming in contact with danger. It was understandable, so the group didn't fret. They met up at lunch time to discuss how recruiting was going.

"How did it go for you guys?" Charlotte asked.

"It was a pain, but I got a few Inklings on board." Teuta said.

"Everyone I asked was either unsure or didn't wanna." Erink sighed.

"It went well on my end. Octoling and Octarians were mostly up for it. I feel that we may need more. Let's compare numbers." Jr suggested. When the four of them compared numbers of recruits, it wasn't nearly enough. Jr sighed disappointedly.

"Not enough?" Charlotte asked.

"Unfortunately. There are numerous people in my dad's army and the amount of people we recruited is barely have even quarter of it. Remember they're scattered across Inkopolis while some still remain in Octo Valley. I'm sure I could get some of the ones working for him on our side." Jr explained.

"How will you convert them?" Erink asked.

"I can be very persuasive. I know what my people want and I'll do my best to provide it." Jr replied.

"Wow, so noble... "Erink said while resting his head in his hands admiringly.

"Anyways, we should continue trying to recruit people. If we can get a least half the quota, I can find someone else to fill the rest." Jr continued. They nodded and parted ways. They continued the search even after school. More and more people were willing to revolt against the octopus king. Eventually they got to a little over half the quota of recruits. The four of them met up at Charlotte and Teuta's house.

"How are the numbers now?" Jr asked. They compared and he nodded approvingly. "These are good. Really good. I know some Octarians that can probably help, if needed. But in order to contact them, we need to go to Octo Valley. Would that be fine with you guys?" They all nodded. "Good. We'll leave tomorrow morning, alright?"

"Gotcha." Teuta and Erink said in unison. Charlotte simply nodded. The rest of the day went about normally.

The following day they left early in the morning for the Valley. There was no one guarding the kettles so they made their way in. This was a mission big on sneaking around so, they kept as quiet as possible. Most Octarians weren't awake at the time, so the mission was fairly easy. They got to a base and there was a door with a numeric lock code. Jr swiftly typed in the code. Everyone was quite surprised at how he could remember such a long code.

"Dude, how did you even remember all those numbers?!" Erink whispered, surprised.

"I don't remember the numbers. I remember the tune it makes when you press the buttons." Jr softly explained.

"Oh... Neat!" They continued on their way into the base. They eventually reached an elevator and they went inside. It was taking a short while to reach their destination.

"So where exactly are we going?" Charlotte inquired.

"To the Octoweapons." Jr replied, casually. The three Inklings stood stiffly.

"Dude, why are we going to the weapons? Are you turning on us?" Erink asked. Jr stared, clearly offended by that statement.

"I'm not gonna get them to kill you guys, relax. I figured I could persuade them to help us." Jr explained, with a little bit of irritation in his tone.

"Oh... Sorry, man..." Erink apologized. They all relaxed a little. They reached the floor with the Octoweapons. They all followed Jr as they approached the first room. He pressed a button, which made a large door open up. In there was the Octostomp. Erink got tense again, because he was somewhat afraid of this boss. Jr confidently walked towards the stamp.

"Yo, Stan." Jr started. To the Inklings it sounded like another language. It was the Octarians own language. They watched silently.

"It's nice to see you, your highness. What brings you here?" Stan asked.

"It's about my father. He's successfully taken over Inkopolis and stolen The Great Zapfish. My friends here and several others are working together to end this. I want to know if you'll join our side." Jr said.

"Your highness, with all due respect, I can't turn on the king. Especially when we've ultimately achieved the goals we've been working towards."

"I understand that, but may I remind you what's happening to the Valley? The quicker we fix my father's mistakes and finally make up with the Inklings, the quicker we can leave this Valley. I don't want to risk losing anyone else." Stan is silent.

"I'll think about it..." he said. Jr sighs and turns to leave.

"He says he'll think about it. We'll come back to him." Jr said. They followed him out the room and into the next one; the Octonozzle's.

"Nozz." Jr said. She turned to stare and was a bit surprised to see him.

"You're highness... And friends..." she said. She also spoke in the Octarian tongue and her voice was somewhat nasally. "Why are they here?"

"They're friends of mine. It's sort of a long story. I came here to ask you a favour." Jr continued. She was listening. "My father has taken over Inkopolis and stolen the Great Zapfish. I need your help in the revolt." She stared solemnly for a bit. She considered what was happening to the Valley and what could come out of Jr being in charge.

"Would this get us out of the Valley? It IS deteriorating."

"If all goes according to plan, then yes." She simply nods.

"I'll fight by your side, Prince Octavio." She bows to the best of her ability, as she was still in her weapon. Jr bowed back.

"Thank you, Nozz. I'll do my best to fulfill your wishes." Jr said. He turned his attention back to his friends. "She's on board. There are two more will still have to persuade." They nodded and headed to the next room. It was the Octowhirl. Teuta was pretty tense about this boss.

"Don't worry. He's nice." Jr reassured her. She relaxed a tiny you bit. The Octowhirl was spinning around the room and humming loudly. Jr cleared his throat and he stopped. Upon seeing them he bounced onto his side and happily rolled over to them, the three Inklings hiding behind Jr for cover. He stopped right in front of Jr and hopped upright again.

"Your highness! I'm surprised to see you down here! Must be serious, judging by your expression!" he laughed loudly. Once again in Octarian.

"It is quite serious, Earl. My dad took over Inkopolis and took the Great Zapfish." Jr began.

"That sounds great! Right?" Jr shook his head.

"I can only imagine what he'll do to the Inklings. If we don't recruit more people to stop his reign, the Inklings can be sent down here. It's deteriorating and the Inklings wouldn't survive down here. Are you willing to join my side and revolt against my father?" Earl hopped up and down happily.

"Of course, my prince. If wouldn't wish the Valley on anyone. Even if we were banished down here." He bowed and Jr bowed back.

"Thank you, Earl. You won't regret this."

"I know I won't. You've always made the best decisions, your highness." Jr turned to leave and his friends followed.

"He's on board. Now to see if the last one will be and then back to Stan." Jr said to them. They nodded and followed him into the next room. The next room belonged to the Octomaw. They Charlotte was especially tense in this boss's room. Jr focused patted her shoulder reassuringly and called them.

"Marl. Are you in here?" He waited and the fish-like mech popped out of one of the containers. He swam towards them and spoke, in Squinglish for once.

"Your majesty and friends, it's great to see you all! You three look familiar have we met before? I'm Marl, the guy manning the Octomaw. It's a pretty fun job and all, but it gets a tad boring if there's no one to chomp! Haha! Prince Octavio, how are you? You've grown so much! I remember when he was a wee octobaby. Cute as a button. His father always said-"

"Marl. You're rambling again." Jr groaned.

"Oh, my deepest and humblest apologies, your highness. I was just excited someone came to visit. Anyways, what brings you here?"

"My dad's taken over Inkopolis and stolen the Zapfish; we're revolting, and are you with me or against me." Jr summarized.

"Revolting? Why? I thought Inkopolis was always the goal. Will something bad come of this? Are people gonna-"

"Marl." Jr growled, clearly irritated.

"Sorry, sorry. I guess if you know what will become of all this, I'm on your side. I trust your judgement."

"Good. We'll call you if we need you, OK?"

"Oh of course, your highness. Bye! See you later! Sayonara! Toodles! Tata!" Jr hurried them out of the room. He sighed once the door closed behind them.

"He seems nice." Erink grinned, looking back at the door.

"He is," Jr started, "But he tends to ramble nonstop if he gets the chance." It can be frustrating." He shakes his head and places his hands on his hips. "We just need, Stan- the Octostomp, and we'll be set. He's a bit ornery at times, but I'll do my best to convince him." They nod and head back to the stubborn Octarian's room. He walked up to him. He began speaking in Octarian.

"I need an answer today. Are you in or out?" Jr demanded. He looked down at the prince.

"You're asking me to work alongside Inklings, your highness. They're the reason we're down here. What makes you think they'll accept us if we even get to go to the surface?" he retorted.

"They accepted me. And I trust them." Jr said. "I can assure you that they won't turn on us. Things have changed, Stan." The Stomp sat there silently for a bit.

"What do you hope will come out of your little plan, your highness?" Jr huffed at his plan being called little, but replied nonetheless.

"I want Inklings and Octarians to be seen as equals. For us both to live on the surface." Stan stared in silence and then finally laughed a little.

"You sound a ton like your grandfather when he was young. I suppose you could use all the manpower you can get. I'll assist you." He bowed.

"Thank you, Stan. I'll assure that my plan doesn't fail."

"I'll be holding onto that. Good luck." Jr turned to leave and motioned for the crew to follow. Once they exited the room they turned to him for the verdict.

"He's on board." Jr said. The Inklings cheered.

"Now we can move onto our next step, right?" Charlotte asked.

"Correct." Jr said. "We should probably go before we get caught." They nodded and began making their way out of the base. They were successfully unseen and made their way back to Inkopolis. The following day would be when they'd put their next step into action: taking back Inkopolis.


	15. Ch 14: Taking Back Inkopolis

Today was the big day: they were going to take back Inkopolis from DJ Octavio's clutches. A lot of people were a bit nervous, but hopeful that things would return to normal. Jr wasn't anticipating the soon-to-come confrontation with his dad, but he masked those feelings and concentrated the mission on hand. He fastened the metal plate on his chest and turned to his friends who were all dressed up in their agent clothes.

"Are you guys ready?" he asked. They all grinned.

"You betcha." Teuta said confidently, clutching her Splash-o-Matic.

"Let's go get our city back!" Erink cheered waving his Krak-On roller in the air.

"Let's do this." Charlotte said, holding her Aerospray firmly in her hand. Jr smiled slightly and pulled out his walkie-talkie.

"The plan is go. Get moving." he ordered the Octarians. They began moving to their positions. Teuta, Erink, and Charlotte sent out texts to the Inklings scattered across Inkopolis. They began heading to their positions. The four of them began heading out too. The Inklings were doing a good job in warding off and containing the bad Octarians. Most of them were scared to get splatted, so they complied. Teuta received a text. Teuta read it aloud.

"The west side of Inkopolis is good to go. Most of them wussed out and we're taking them to Urchin Underpass." Her friends nodded approvingly. They continued making their way to the Plaza. The east end Octarians called Jr.

"Your highness, the east side has been secured. Where should we talk them?" an Octoling asked.

"Take them to Blackbelly Skatepark. I'll send you the coordinates."

"Roger that." He sends her the coordinates and they begin making their way there. Eventually the southern and the northern parts were under their control as well. Jr was quite satisfied with the results so far. Just the Plaza was left to take back and then they would be ready to take down the king. They walked by many injured Octarians who were on the opposing team. He really wanted to go patch them up, but he needed to focus on the mission. They fought off a few more Octarians before finally reaching the Plaza. There were Octarians scattered everywhere.

"They're making a mess of the place!" Teuta hissed quietly.

"We're greatly outnumbered. What should we so, Jr?" Charlotte asked quietly.

"I'll call back up." Jr replied. He called the Octoweapons. Within a few minutes they arrived. Upon seeing them, the Octarians were spooked. Most cowered in fear, not moving an inch from where they stood. A few fled the premises. Those ones who fled were quickly caught by Charlotte, Teuta, Erink, and Jr. Only one got away and that was an Octocopter. The crew didn't think much of it and began heading to the Octoweapons. The rogue Octarians were ordered by the Octoweapons to head to Blackbelly Skatepark or Urchin Underpass. They all complied and quietly made their way to either one of the places. Finally Inkopolis was theirs again. They crew contacted the recruits to tell them the news. Cheering could be heard across the city.

"Your highness, what's shall we do now?" Stan asked, speaking in Octarian tongue. The crew stopped rejoicing and focused on Stan.

"Get the Octolings to round up any injured Octarians across the city. Get them patched up." Jr said.

"Should we bring them back to the valley after?" Jr shook his head.

"No, don't bring them to the Valley. There's no need to go back. We all know how unstable it's getting and we don't need any more casualties. Just stay at the surface with them. The Inklings are working on a place for you guys to stay temporarily. We need to deal with my dad, so sit tight. Once it's resolved, I'll tell you where you can go." They nodded and bowed. They headed off.

"Where are they off to? The waiting area?" Erink asked.

"Yes. They're also going to find any injured Octarians around the city. Even if they were siding with my dad, they're still my responsibility and I want to ensure their survival. It's not their faults they were attacking us. They were just following orders." Jr explained

"Gotcha. We gonna head to the final boss now?"

"Yes. It's time to finish this." They stood and waited as the Octarians started clearing from the plaza. The Octoking would arrive soon.

Elsewhere, the Octocopter who escaped contacted DJ Octavio.

"Your majesty, I've got good and bad news." she began.

"Tell me the good news, yo." he replied.

"The good news is we found your son."

"Great, are you bringing him back?"

"Well, that's where the bad news comes on sir..." she said meekly, bracing for the worst.

"Well, what is it? Spit it out already!"

"He's taken back Inkopolis with the help of the agents, other Inklings, Octarians, and the Octoweapons, sir..."

"WHAT?! Those traitors! My own son?! This is total bull carp!" he yelled angrily. "Do you know where he is now?"

"I'm assuming he's still at the Plaza, sir."

"Grrrrrr... Fine. Let's settle this." DJ Octavio cuts off the transmission. He heads to his Octoweapon to prepare for battle.


	16. Ch 15: Enter the Octobot King Again

Inkopolis Plaza had cleared and it was just the agents and the prince left. They were awaiting the Octoking's arrival.

"When's he gonna arrive? He's taking his sweet time." Teuta huffed.

"He'll be here soon. He needs to make an 'entrance'. "Jr said. Within a few minutes, DJ Octavio did indeed arrive. He arrived similar to how he revealed himself in the past to the agents.

"Agents, Jr, I'm glad you could make it to tonight's performance." DJ Octavio greeted them.

"You're really gonna fight your own son?" Erink called.

"If it makes him learn his lesson, yes." the DJ said, while glaring his son down.

"Well, I'm not prepared to lose, 'father'." Jr retorted, glaring back. They glared each other down before unlocking eyes.

"Hope y'all are ready for this." DJ Octavio said, starting his beats. He was bobbing to the beat and tapping a tentacle while he was DJing. They readied themselves for battle. The battle so far was pretty much the same as the last one. He would be shooting the missiles, blasting Killer Wails, throwing punches, and firing the Octo Disco balls. The crew thought they pretty much had it, until he fired a new attack. It was similar to that of the Inkzooka. They tried to dodge, but Erink got splatted and sent back to the respawn point.

"How long has he had that?!" Teuta exclaimed.

"It's one of the new weapons the ship has been upgraded with." Jr explained while wiping off ink from his cheek.

"How did you know this?" Charlotte asked, blasting a missile to pieces.

"I... I supervised all the upgrades." Jr replied, looking down regretfully. Charlotte patted his shoulder.

"It's fine. Let's focus on beating him." she reassures him. They continued fighting him. They swiftly dodged and knocked back his artillery and DJ Octavio was getting frustrated.

"You guys are really bein' a stick in the sand, yo. Time for y'all to drop the mic!" DJ Octavio said while pressing a switch on his dashboard. This activated an Inkstrike and he aimed it at the squids. Teuta got splatted, while Jr pushed Charlotte out the way.

"They're OK? Right?" Charlotte asked. Jr nodded.

"They've most likely been sent to a respawn point somewhere in Inkopolis. They'll be fine." he replied pulling her onto her feet again. The battle continued. DJ Octavio was going all out as were Charlotte and Jr. They were getting to the final stretch and the Squid Sisters finally overrided the Octoweapon.

"Sorry we took so long, Agent 3!" Callie said.

"Gramps kept offering us crabby cakes... Super distracting..." Marie added.

"You're in the final stretch now! Ward him outta Inkopolis for good!"

"Got it." Charlotte said. They continued on with the battle. Pink and purple ink was flying in both directions. On one end the two kids wanted to win, while on the other end, the Octoking wanted to win. He finally shot the Octopus Disco ball. Charlotte hit it back. He punched it back with his left fist. Jr shot it back once again. DJ Octavio punched it back with his right. Finally Charlotte and Jr shot it back. Their blow was strong enough that it sent him flying back to Octo Valley. The two were panting and they heard the thud of the ship. They let out a sigh of relief. Once the year caught their breath, Jr turned to Charlotte.

"I need to go back to Octo Valley. That last blow might have done a number down there." He turned to leave, but Charlotte grabbed his arm.

"It's too dangerous! You can get killed..." she said. She was looking down and holding his arm tightly. She really didn't want him to go. He put his hand on hers.

"I'll come back in one piece. I promise." They locked eyes with each other. They moved in their faces closer to each other's. Their lips almost touched, but Jr reeled back. "I'm... sorry... I have to go." He finally got out of her grip and super-jumped away. She watched him go before turning to go on her own way. She needed to find Erink and Teuta.

Jr eventually reached Octo Valley. The ship was there, smashed and his dad was there passed out. The Great Zapfish was fortunately unharmed and floating there gently. He frowned and sighed.

"I'm sorry we had to fight like that dad... But you had no right to steal like that." He felt a rumble beneath his feet. He kept his balance. He hurried down into one of the kettles. More panels were falling off the walls. Stalactites were falling from the ceiling and hitting structures below. He tensed up seeing this. He took a few deep breaths to calm down and refocused on his mission. He began super-jumping to platforms and scooping up some Octarians. He dropped them off near the kettle.

"Go to the surface and wait for me there. I need to head to base and order everyone to evacuate. Keep by Kettle 0001." Jr ordered.

"But, your highness." one whimpered.

"Go now!" The two quickly climbed out of the kettle was stayed by it. Jr began making his way back to the home base and telling every Octarian where to go. He finally made it to base. There were still Octarians there and around Octo Valley. Some places were falling apart less than others, but this prince wasn't taking any chances. Octobob came to greet Jr.

"Prince Octavio? What are you doing back? I thought you had..." Octobob couldn't finish his sentence.

"I know... But I'm back now. And I need everyone to evacuate to the surface." Jr said.

"But, your highness, where will we go if we go to the surface?"

"I don't know yet... But we certainly can't stay here. Get going, OK? I don't want to use you too." Jr said while patting Octobob reassuringly. Octobob sniffed and wiped away a tear.

"Please be careful, OK?" Jr nodded. The Octotrooper ran off and warned everyone who he passed by. Jr made an announcement throughout all the domes telling the Octarians to head to the surface. No one argued and did as he said. Little by little, the Octarians began leaving the domes of the valley. Eventually the domes were empty as could be and he had to get out now.

He super-jumped from platform to platform, dodging the falling debris, heading towards the exit. He would help an Octarian who was hurt or stuck, if he spotted them, and those who weren't hurt helped them as well. Eventually they all made it out of the Valley. More crashing noises could be heard. The Octarians and Jr sadly looked at the kettles as they listened to their homes being destroyed. Jr sighed sadly. He turned to look at the amount of people saved. He sighed sadly. He recognized many faces there, but knew tons of people were missing, probably still in the Valley. Families were looking for missing members and we completely distraught when they couldn't find them. A lot of them angrily went to Jr.

"Our homes are destroyed!" one yelled.

"I still can't find my son! Where is he?!" screamed another.

"Where are we supposed to go now?!" another added. They were all yelling angrily at him and Jr really didn't have the answer to any of those questions. He stood in silence trying not to break under pressure. He didn't know what to do or say. DJ Octavio stirred and sat up. He looked over and saw the crowd yelling at his son. He got up and approached.

"HEY!" he called loudly, silencing the Octarians completely. Jr whipped around.

"D-dad?!" Jr asked, tensing up.

"Don't worry, I ain't gonna do nothing to you. Honest." the DJ said gently to his child. He turned his attention back to the crowd. "Why were y'all yelling at my son?"

"He made us leave our homes! Now they're destroyed!" DJ Octavio realized that Jr had actually saved a lot of them.

"You idiotic ingrates! He saved you all from dying!" They all fell silent. He was right.

"Well... Where do we go now?" another asked.

"Leave that to me." DJ Octavio pulled out his walkie-talkie. He turned to Jr as he dialed. "I need to show you someone..." Jr frowned because of all the trouble his dad caused. "I know, I know. I messed up big time. But I really need you to stay. It's important..." They still stared at each other for a bit. Jr sighed.

"Fine... But don't think this'll make me forgive you.

"I understand... Thank you, Jr."

Charlotte had gone to several of the respawn points and finally made her way to the Urchin Underpass one. There were Inklings and Octarians alike all in there. The Octarians seemed pretty tame in comparison to how they were acting earlier. She walked up to an Inkling.

"Excuse me, have you seen my sister? She's the same height as me, brown skin, yellow eyes, and is wearing a headset, a pair of shoes, and a jacket similar to mine. Have you seen her?" she asked.

"No, haven't seen her... An orange Inkling in clothes like yours popped up in the spawn earlier though." Charlotte perked up upon hearing this. The Inkling directed her to where he was. She saw him and he was holding hands with an Ophelia.

"Erink?" Charlotte called. Her whipped around and grinned widely.

"Charlotte! You're OK!" He runs over to her and gives her a big hug. She laughed slightly. "Did you beat him?"

"Yes. Jr and I beat him."

"And Teuta? And Jr too? Where are they?"

"I haven't found where she respawned yet and Jr's gone back to Octo Valley..."

"I'll help you look for Teuta, then! Do you wanna come along, Ophelia?" Erink asked turning to the Octoling. She politely shook her head. He shrugged. "I'll catch you later then." He gives her a hug. "Let's go find her." The two headed out of Urchin Underpass. They made their way to Blackbelly Skatepark. Erink tapped an Octostriker.

"Have you seen an Inkling girl with brown skin, yellow tentacles, and clothes like ours?"

"Uh yeah, she's over there." They looked over to where he was pointing and Teuta was there chatting with some Inklings and Octolings.

"Teuta!" Charlotte called. Teuta whipped around and happily ran towards them.

"Charlotte! Erink!" Teuta screamed happily as she jumped into her sister's arms. Charlotte almost fell over, but regained her balance. "Didja win?"

"Yeah. We beat him." Charlotte replied.

"Where's Jr?"

"He had to deal with stuff back in Octo Valley..."

"He does gonna be OK, right?" Charlotte shrugged.

"I hope so... Things are looking grim down there, but he's so dedicated to his people... We can only hope for the best." Teuta patted her sister's shoulder reassuringly.

Octavio Jr, his dad, and all the Octarians had made their way to a beach near the Valley. They were waiting for some boats to arrive. Jr stood a few feet away from his dad. He was still quite upset, and understandably so. DJ Octavio wanted to talk to him, but he couldn't figure out what to say and how to say it. A boat could finally be seen in the distance. Many others followed. Once they reached the shore, a woman stepped out from one. Some Octarians helped her down and DJ Octavio approached her. Once he was standing by her side, he sighed.

"Jr... This... This if your mother, Blanca."


	17. Epilogue

Jr stood silently and stared with his usual cold, deadpan expression. He didn't budge from his spot. DJ Octavio stood and watched nervously. Blanca approached the young prince.

"Octavio Jr... It's been so long..." she said. She reached to touch him, but he reeled back.

"Jr!" DJ Octavio warned.

"Octavio, it's fine." she said turning back to glare at the DJ. DJ Octavio backed off. She turned back to Jr. She stared at Jr silently, taking in his appearance. She hasn't looked at her child in so long. She smiled gently. "You look so much like your father..." Jr relaxed a little. Her smile soon faded into a frown. "I've been gone for so long. It's not fair for me to come back at such a bad time... I'm sorry I wasn't there for you..." He was silent for a bit and his face darkened.

"Why bother coming back now?" he asked.

"Jr!" DJ Octavio warned again.

"If you were alive all this time... why didn't you even try to come back? Or even try to contact us? Some mother you are!" Jr snapped. He whipped around and stormed off. Octarians cleared a path and eventually Jr super-jumped away. DJ Octavio was about to go after him, but Blanca grabbed one of his tentacles.

"No, no. Leave him... I really should've tried harder to do those things..." she said sadly. He turned to her and held her shoulders.

"Please, don't be so hard on yourself. You had amnesia. You just got your memories of us back… He's been through so much. The Valley's really hardened the kid... I should've been more there for him too..." he sighed. "It'll take some time for him to forgive both of us. The best we can do is wait. Let's focus on these Octarians right now, though." She smiles gently and nods. They directed the Octarians onto the boats and they were going to have them move to Calamari County.

DJ Octavio sent Jr a message telling him he could send some Octarians to the beach so they could come as well. Jr replied with a 'whatever' since he was still upset. He headed back to Inkopolis to see if things went well with the others. Once he arrived, he texted Charlotte asking where she was. She replied Blackbelly Skatepark, so he made his way there. Once he got there, the three of them ran to greet him. Charlotte hugged him tightly. He was a bit embarrassed and his face glowed purple. Teuta and Erink just laughed. Finally Charlotte pulled away and stared solemnly at him.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"I saved as many people as I could... I may need to make trips back to find survivors or bodies. The families deserve closure." he sighed sadly. She patted his shoulder.

"What about the Octarians here and at Urchin Underpass?"

"They could either stay here or move to Calamari. My mother, who I previously thought was dead, invited any Octarians looking for a home." He turns his attention to the crowd. "Yo." They all quieted down and listened. "You can either stay in Inkopolis or move to Calamari County, so make your choice." The Octarians mumbled amongst each other. Some came towards Jr, implying they wanted to go to Calamari. Some didn't budge at all, since they wanted to stay in Inkopolis. Jr nodded and led the way. "I'll be back. I suppose I should get my dad to formally apologize to Inkopolis for sure this time. Maybe it would help."

"Sounds good. See you in a bit." Charlotte replied. He waved and led the Octarians to the shore where the others left for Calamari. Little by little, things began calming down. Charlotte and the others headed home to rest. The left back Octarians returned to the homes they were staying in. People were generally nice enough to let them stay in Inkopolis since they war was over 100 years ago. There was no need to hold a grudge. Things had to be cleaned up majorly because of all the fighting that took place, but Inkopolis would be in tip-top shape in no time. Things would start looking up soon.

A few months had passed and things were a lot different in Inkopolis. Both Inklings and Octarians could live in Inkopolis now. There was still a bit of prejudice amongst the two races, but it would take time to fix that. DJ Octavio had formally apologized to Inkopolis and returned the Great Zapfish. He was staying in Calamari with Blanca and many other Octarians. Jr was living with Charlotte and the others. He and Charlotte were going to try their relationship again. Erink also got together with Ophelia. Teuta didn't care for relationships, but was doing swell.

Jr was leaving for Octo Valley. Charlotte went to go say goodbye.

"You really have to go do this, huh?" she asked sadly.

"Yeah... It's my duty as the prince to care for my people. And if anyone's left back, I want to find them. I always come back, don't I?" he said.

"Well, yeah. But I still worry... Just be careful, OK?" she said while giving him a peck on the cheek. He blushed and nodded. He gave her a peck back.

"I'll return soon. Don't worry." He headed off and she sighed. Teuta walked up to her sister.

"Aw don't be so bummed out. How 'bout we go do some turf wars? That always cheers me up." she suggested. Charlotte smiled.

"Alright. Erink, Ophelia! Are you coming?" Charlotte called. The two were smooching up a storm. Erink pulled away.

"Oh, sure! Lemme just grab my roller." he called back. "Come on Ophelia. Have you seen turf wars before?" She shook her head. "Oh! You'll love it! It's like the best thing ever!" He grabbed his roller and the four of them headed to Inkopolis Tower. Things had gone back to normal for sure. Finally Inklings and Octarians could live in peace together once more. Things could only get better from here on.


End file.
